Formed initially by members Alex Church (bass), Steven Scott (guitar) and Brian Canning (guitar), Irving began as a thrown-together rock outfit to accompany a friendโs art opening. Within a month, Brent Turner (drums) joined, and the group began working in earnest on the songs that would eventually appear on its first album, Good Morning Beautiful. The release of GMB in 2002 showcased the bandโs penchant for writing witty pop songs with whimsical backup vocals and upbeat melodies.
By the yearโs end, Aaron Burrows (keyboards) signed on, and the band was back in the studio. The I Hope Youโre Feeling Better Now EP, released in 2003 to critical acclaim, exhibited Irvingโs unrelenting willingness to experiment with pop song structures, and highlighted the innate strengths of a band in which all five members are songwriters.
In the two years since the release of the EP, Irving has opened for such notables as Franz Ferdinand, Arcade Fire, Broken Social Scene and The Polyphonic Spree. The bandโs songwriting has also taken a noticeably more thoughtful turn. While the innate pop sensibilities continue to stand out above all else, Irvingโs songwriting has maturedโthe sounds and structures more intricate, the subject matter more thoroughly realized.
"Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers" is the result of five musicians and their distinct influences, bound by an uncanny knack for melody and harmony. With production and engineering help from Phil Ek (The Shins, Modest Mouse), as well as Aaron Espinoza (Earlimart) and Jim Fairchild (from Grandaddy), Irving corrals its many distinct influences into a clear vision. From the oblique percussive start of the title track, to the psych-pop chaos of โSituationโ to the so-bizarre-it-works background breathing on โI Want To Love You In My Room,โ the band pulls unforgettable hooks out of the most unlikely places.
In 2007, Church left the band to form his own band, Sea Wolf, while the remaining members put Irving on hold to form a new band with singer Claire McKeown, Afternoons, not to be confused with (or sure to be confused with) the Welsh pop band The Afternoons.
The Curious Thing About Leather
Irving Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Phone booth receiver resting upon her front tooth
As she mines her pockets for change
She's looking about for the narrator
The dial tone is broken by the operator
Who hums the curious thing about leather
Sunday morning traffic came
Where all the conversations bear your name
Sunday morning traffic came
And it pushed you down to another place
Where all the situations taste the same
Cynthia Weston gets so depressed
When she can't place the names for the pop IQ test
As the billboard's thinking differently
The circus is calling, they're looking for a darling
Ol' Miss Weston, you'd be perfect for the role
The curious thing about leather
Sunday morning traffic came
And it pushed you down to another place
Where all the conversations bear your name
Sunday morning traffic came
And it pushed you down to another place
Where all the situations taste the same
Perhaps you lapse into a day dream
Where it may seem too complex and day life esque
So you wonder, worry, you might find it hard to distinguish
That in which the dream that you just had from the daytime genre
The cops come busting in looking for Miss Weston
The circus is calling, looking for a darling
Sunday morning traffic came
And it pushed you down to another place
Where all the conversations bear your name
Sunday morning traffic came
And it pushed you down to another place
Where all the situations taste the same
The lyrics to Irving's song "The Curious Thing About Leather" depict a young woman named Cynthia Weston who appears to be struggling with feelings of anxiety and depression. She is described as standing in a phone booth, searching her pockets for change while looking for the singer. The dial tone is interrupted by an operator who hums "the curious thing about leather," adding a surreal twist to the scene.
As the song progresses, Cynthia's struggles become more apparent. She feels pressured to perform well on a "pop IQ test," but cannot recall the names she needs to know. Meanwhile, billboards and circuses seem to be calling out to her, and she is urged to play a role for which she may not be ready. The repeated line of "Sunday morning traffic came and it pushed you down to another place, where all the conversations bear your name" illustrates how overwhelming and suffocating everyday life can be for Cynthia.
The final verse describes how Cynthia may be struggling to distinguish between reality and her dreams, wondering if the "daytime genre" is blurring with her subconscious. Meanwhile, the police are looking for her and the circus continues to call out to her, indicating that these struggles are unlikely to end soon.
Overall, the song seems to be a reflection on the struggles of many modern young people to find their place in a world that can be both confusing and overwhelming.
Line by Line Meaning
Cynthia Weston dressed in
Introducing a character named Cynthia Weston who is currently wearing clothes
Phone booth receiver resting upon her front tooth
Cynthia Weston is holding a phone receiver between her lips as if it were wedged between her teeth
As she mines her pockets for change
Cynthia Weston is searching her pockets for coins or other small objects
She's looking about for the narrator
Cynthia Weston is searching for the person who is telling the story or singing the song
The dial tone is broken by the operator
After dialing a number, Cynthia Weston hears a broken dial tone which the operator is responsible for
Who hums the curious thing about leather
The operator hums something about leather that is strange or perplexing
Sunday morning traffic came
Describing a time when traffic is heavy on a particular day
And it pushed you down to another place
The traffic causes someone to feel down or depressed because of the inconvenience it causes
Where all the conversations bear your name
Describing a place where everyone is talking about or mentioning the name of the person being addressed
Where all the situations taste the same
Describing a situation or environment that is monotonous and repetitive
Cynthia Weston gets so depressed
The character Cynthia Weston feels down or sad
When she can't place the names for the pop IQ test
Cynthia Weston becomes upset or frustrated when she can't remember the names for a quiz about popular culture
As the billboard's thinking differently
A billboard or advertisement is presenting a different idea or belief
The circus is calling, they're looking for a darling
A circus is contacting or inquiring about someone they are interested in hiring
Ol' Miss Weston, you'd be perfect for the role
Someone is suggesting that Cynthia Weston would be a great fit for a particular job or position
Perhaps you lapse into a day dream
An introduction to a hypothetical situation where someone is daydreaming
Where it may seem too complex and day life esque
Describing a dream that is confusing or blends fictional elements with real life
So you wonder, worry, you might find it hard to distinguish
The dream is causing someone to become anxious about distinguishing it from reality
That in which the dream that you just had from the daytime genre
Describing the confusion between a dream and real life which causes it to appear to be part of a different category
The cops come busting in looking for Miss Weston
The police suddenly and forcefully enter while in search of Cynthia Weston
The circus is calling, looking for a darling
A circus is contacting or inquiring about someone they are interested in hiring
Sunday morning traffic came
Describing a time when traffic is heavy on a particular day
And it pushed you down to another place
The traffic causes someone to feel down or depressed because of the inconvenience it causes
Where all the conversations bear your name
Describing a place where everyone is talking about or mentioning the name of the person being addressed
Where all the situations taste the same
Describing a situation or environment that is monotonous and repetitive
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management
Written by: AARON BURROWS, ALEX CHURCH, BRENT MICHAEL TURNER, BRIAN R CANNING, STEVEN SATHER SCOTT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind