After a well-received debut album and critically acclaimed follow-up EP, th… Read Full Bio ↴After a well-received debut album and critically acclaimed follow-up EP, the band Irving now realizes its full potential with "Death In The Garden, Blood On The Flowers." An album of inspired variety and stirring depth, "Death In The Garden" casts Irving among the strongest rock bands performing today.

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 friend’s 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 band’s penchant for writing witty pop songs with whimsical backup vocals and upbeat melodies.

By the year’s end, Aaron Burrows (keyboards) signed on, and the band was back in the studio. The I Hope You’re Feeling Better Now EP, released in 2003 to critical acclaim, exhibited Irving’s 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 band’s songwriting has also taken a noticeably more thoughtful turn. While the innate pop sensibilities continue to stand out above all else, Irving’s songwriting has matured—the 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 “Situation” to the so-bizarre-it-works background breathing on “I Want To Love You In My Room,” 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.

Turn of the Century
Irving Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She was a hit at seventeen
four years on and she's waitressing
and she wants to know what ever happened
to the boy with the broken heart

She had a house out in Echo Park
I called her up as the day grew dark
and we talked about our favorite pictures

and on the change in the weather
And she said my how I have changed
She asked me if she looked different

She laughed passing it off on the turn of the century

She said her boyfriend was never home
was up in San Francisco with his trombone
And she said she didn't date musicians
as she fixed us drinks in the kitchen

Then she showed me her favorite thing
A wooden box with her mothers' ring
And she said this wasn't something
that she showed just anyone
And she said my how I have change
She asked me if she looked different

She laughed passing it off on the turn of the century

Overall Meaning

The song Turn of the Century by Irving tells the story of a woman who was once a hit at 17, but four years later has found herself waitressing and wondering what happened to the boy with the broken heart from her past. The lyrics go on to reveal that she has a house in Echo Park where she enjoys talking about her favorite pictures and the changing weather. She notes that she has changed since they last saw each other and asks if she looks different, but then laughs it off and blames it on the turn of the century.

As the conversation continues, she shares that her boyfriend is away in San Francisco playing his trombone and she doesn't typically date musicians. She then shows the singer a wooden box with her mother's ring and tells him that she doesn't show it to just anyone. Again, she laughs and brushes off her revealing this personal item as a result of the turn of the century.

The lyrics paint a picture of a woman who has experienced both success and struggles in her relatively short life. She seems to still hold on to some of her romantic ideals, as indicated by her reluctance to date musicians, but also reveals a depth of character through sharing her mother's ring. Overall, the song celebrates the intricacies and unexpected changes that life can bring.

Line by Line Meaning

She was a hit at seventeen
At the age of seventeen, she was very popular and successful.

four years on and she's waitressing
Now, after four years have passed, she is working at a restaurant as a waitress.

and she wants to know what ever happened to the boy with the broken heart
She is curious to know what happened to the boy who had a broken heart, probably referring to a past relationship.

She had a house out in Echo Park
At some point in the past, she owned a house in Echo Park.

I called her up as the day grew dark
As the day got darker, I called her on the phone.

and we talked about our favorite pictures
We had a conversation about our favorite photographs.

and on the change in the weather
We discussed how the weather had changed.

And she said my how I have changed
She recognized that she had changed somehow.

She asked me if she looked different
She inquired if she appeared different than the last time we met.

She laughed passing it off on the turn of the century
She laughed while mentioning the passage of time, as if it was responsible for her changes.

She said her boyfriend was never home
She stated that her boyfriend was frequently absent from home.

was up in San Francisco with his trombone
Her boyfriend was in San Francisco playing his trombone.

And she said she didn't date musicians
She expressed that she did not have a romantic relationship with musicians.

as she fixed us drinks in the kitchen
While making us some drinks in the kitchen, we had our conversation.

Then she showed me her favorite thing
She showed me something that she valued and held dear.

A wooden box with her mothers' ring
The item that she shared with me was a wooden box which contained her mother's ring.

And she said this wasn't something that she showed just anyone
She acknowledged that it was not common for her to reveal the contents of the wooden box to other people.

And she said my how I have change
She reiterated her observations about how much she had changed.

She asked me if she looked different
Once again, she inquired about how she appeared different.

She laughed passing it off on the turn of the century
She laughed again while attributing her changes to the passage of time, as if it was beyond her control.

Contributed by Sophia K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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