- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
A quirky lo-fi wonder or the best album the '70s never had, "The Garden" feels like a lost gem, discovered in a box in the attic; a forgotten masterpiece full of tantalising sounds, odd voices and tingling ideas.
-
Another superb Zero 7 album.
-
It feels like a bunch of friends jamming on a farm, even if there are still a few electronica elements here and there.
-
With The Garden, Zero 7 push beyond the electronica genre and out into an unnamed territory, an adventurous and yet highly listenable vocal pop for the 21st century.
-
The songs are good, but the production is even better.
-
[A] playful, warm and inspired set.
-
UncutHappily, their third set rejects the sterility of 2004's When It Falls in favour of the kind of nuance-rich arrangements that give contemporary jazz-funk a good name. [Jun 2006, p.126]
-
Entertainment WeeklyWhat they lack in pop fireworks they more than make up for in sumptuous beats and keyboard textures. [9 Jun 2006, p.139]
-
With Garden, Zero 7 have created what could be the ultimate summer evening record: warm pop hooks, lush instrumentation, unobtrusive electronica elements, and '60s-style harmonies that all come together into superb, wonderfully descriptive songs.
-
Edgier and more experimental than its predecessors, The Garden also ramps up the chill factor.
-
The folk and electronic elements are ever-present, but the chilled-out downtempo rhythms are now intertwined with chilled-out uptempo fare as if the duo has remixed itself.
-
UrbZero 7 have perfected the formula for folk jazz that transcends definition and defies classification, always taking you on joyous rides that often end at a truly unexpected place. [Jun 2006, p.108]
-
The Garden is an enjoyably light album on the whole, but it's most remarkable for the stealthy way it smuggles in an even finer four-song Jose Gonzalez EP.
-
MojoPacked with fine folk-tinged numbers. [Jun 2006, p.102]
-
Under The RadarThe Garden differs from their debut, Simple Things, and its followup, Where It Falls, in that it scales back the soundscapes in favor of a more upbeat, organic, and song-based sound. [#14]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 21 out of 29
-
Mixed: 6 out of 29
-
Negative: 2 out of 29
-
Feb 6, 2021The pitchfork rated this as 3.2 which is just an uneducated stab by an imbecile.
-
justinedFeb 3, 2007Absolutely wonderful and inspiring!
-
AnthonyBJan 4, 2007