ALBUM REVIEW: A Garden Of Dead Flowers – Death Goals
DEATH GOALS’ 2021 debut full-length The Horrible And The Miserable was without question one of the best hardcore records of that year. A sub-25-minute shock that essentially fused metalcore, chaotic hardcore and screamo, it probably would’ve landed on even more end of year lists had it had a bigger label push behind it. Thankfully it was enough to catch the attention of the wonderful Prosthetic Records, and now with their backing the duo step up to the plate with their sophomore effort A Garden Of Dead Flowers. And, spoiler alert, they deliver in spades.
As The Horrible And The Miserable already made clear, absolutely central to who DEATH GOALS are is their identity specifically as a queer hardcore band. That’s even more prominent here, with this record representing an unapologetic call to radical and defiant self-love and self-acceptance. This is perhaps the album’s foremost triumph; the music is great, as we’ll get to, but with mosh calls like “I am not a man / I am not a woman / I am nothing / I am nothing” and “You can’t erase our existence” the band provide powerful and often cathartic mantras that will make those on the margins feel seen, heard and welcome, while also sending a very clear and uncompromising message to anyone ignorant enough have a problem with that.
Sonically, much of what made The Horrible And The Miserable so great remains intact on A Garden Of Dead Flowers. Recorded in just five days, this album carries an urgent, almost ramshackle style that threatens to come apart at any moment, only to remain all the more exhilarating because it never does. It’s probably the closest anyone’s ever come to filling the void left by THE CHARIOT over the past decade – which anyone who’s had the joy of catching the band at a live show will be well aware is kind of the intention. Ultraviolence is a prime example, as is I Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead (Taking A Bullet For You), but it would also be unfair to paint DEATH GOALS as cheap imitators. Especially with their distinct dual vocals, the band are well on their way to establishing a keen sonic identity of their own.
There’s also a fair bit more going on here than chaotic hardcore alone. With almost 29 minutes to work with this time around, A Garden Of Dead Flowers pushes into welcome new territories. Lead single Faux Macho makes this clear enough, playing around with a cheerleader chant to bring the record to a raucous close, but if you’ve skipped the singles to wait for the full experience then your first taste of the band’s evolution here will be even more emphatic as opener Genderless Clones Of Gameshow Hosts launches into a huge melodic chorus that even BIFFY CLYRO would approve of. To an extent this is a continuation of the soaring post-hardcore of the band’s previous album closer Nothing Left To Give, but even then this one reaches new heights of anthemia.
Admittedly that is the only time we get clean vocals here, but there is plenty more on offer which ensures A Garden Of Dead Flowers remains thoroughly enrapturing from start to finish. Both Loveless and Death Goals In Cursive lean far further into noise and sludge than the band’s usual fare, the former going from a bleak and sparse opening only to end with a breakdown that’s probably best described as heinous. Last Night I Had A Dream About Death provides a later highlight too – an ETID-esque rager that’s certainly not the only time DEATH GOALS show just how happy they are to drop a big gurning fight riff when the need arises.
To summarise then, A Garden Of Dead Flowers nails everything you could possibly ask of a band on a sophomore effort. A few steps forward, a consolidation of the best bits of an excellent debut, and just generally a more obvious and wholly justified confidence. If The Horrible And The Miserable was already pretty essential, then A Garden Of Dead Flowers is quintessential – a perfect representation of all that DEATH GOALS stand for delivered with an ambition and intensity that may well be on a par with glorious second albums like Miss Machine, The Fiancée and more recently Celebrity Therapist. Maybe it’s a little early to speak so boldly, but the point is that DEATH GOALS are bloody brilliant and you won’t hear many albums that are quite as good as this one in all of 2023.
Rating: 9/10
A Garden Of Dead Flowers is set for release on May 5th via Prosthetic Records.
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