If you are like me and have been searching for music that is the perfect mix of 1980s rock nostalgia, with meaningful lyrics dealing in modern issues, look no further because I have the perfect album for you: The Battle of Garden’s Gate by Greta Van Fleet.
Firstly, I have to address the thematic elements within the album. While the songs are mostly instrumental, the amount of symbolism packed into a few short sentences is *chef kiss*. The entire album, including the title, The Battle of Garden’s Gate, gives off strong Paradise Lost vibes, as how most of the songs deal with the fall and faults of modern society and mankind.
Seriously, with lyrics like “Within our dreams the weight we saw, we reap” (“Broken Bells”) and “The queen is dead, we robbed her grave (“The Weight of Dreams”), if I am ever part of a Gen Z revolution riot, these are the songs I will be listening to.
The album’s first two songs, “Heat Above” and “My Way, Soon”, are pretty standard for angsty rock songs. The instrumentals are good quality, the lyrics dealing with rebelling against the status quo, but neither stand out from the rest of the tracklist.
However, things begin to ramp up significantly in the third song, “Broken Bells.” While most of the songs within Garden’s Gate deal with the more negative aspects of modern society, like conformism and hypocrisy, “Broken Bells” is strictly optimistic.
The song sets the scene of a run-down and silent town, a town of broken bells, and builds to a scene of hope and new beginnings; “Between the cracks of sidewalk, there’s a flower grown.” The message is one that, while times may be hard, it’s important to still “play the game,” as there is bound to be a time where “even broken bells will ring.” This is truly a great song to listen to if you are having a bad day and need an epic pick-me-up.
The next song, “Built By Nations,” is a bit of a weirder one lyric-wise. While the album’s other songs are relatively easy to follow, this one is more disjointed, not formulating a full story or concept. However, the place where this song really shines is the music; the song starts off slow and disjointed, then each instrument immediately comes together in a cohesive swell that, honestly, sounds like it belongs in an action film battle montage. This will have your head banging within minutes, even if you have no idea what the singer is saying.
“Age of the Machine” is where the social critique really begins. Going along with the Paradise Lost theme, if the other four songs were before the fall of man, this deals with the aftermath, particularly on the obsession and social isolationism of the technological era; “God machine/ Malfunctioned as it grew/ And the circuits blew.” Once again, the music builds up superbly complements the ebb and flow of lyrics, as the band urges for personal reconnection.
Now, I have frequently mentioned the amazing guitar and instrumentals of the album’s music thus far, but nowhere is this better demonstrated than “Stardust Chords.” The beginning starts out relatively calm but quickly ramps up as the drums and guitar come into play. And boy oh boy, does the guitar come through; to my, admittedly untrained, ears, the guitar riffs in this song are 10/10 air guitar worthy. Once again, the themes of the fall of man are very prevalent in the lyrics, with mention of a cut-down garden gate, an uprising from the weeds of war, and a promise of freedom for “planting,” or settling, a score.
No album would be complete without a love song, even one about the downfall and rebellion of mankind. “Light my Love” admittedly takes a sharp left turn when considering the overarching vibe of the album. It does serve as a nice break piece, however, with a slower, calmer melody coupled with some lovely light symbolism. While it is odd for it to be placed in the album where it is, you won’t see me complaining.
There are a few other songs sprinkled in between that, while not particularly attention-grabbing in the grand scheme of the album, are still top-notch quality. However, where the album really shines is its own unique piece is the finale, “The Weight of Dreams.” While the song can get somewhat tedious in portions, topping in at a whopping nine minutes, the journey of the music progression takes more than makes up for the length.
Seriously, this song has it all: lyrics that perfectly portray the negativity and destruction of economic ambition, a continuous ebb and flow of instrumentals coinciding with the lyric thematics and a guitar solo that transitions into a rocker scream that is pure ‘80s perfection. I honestly don’t know what to focus on more: the majesty of the guitar solo at the end, or the brilliancy of the lyrics critiquing American Westward expansion and the industrial destruction of the environment. Either way, if you listen to nothing else, listen to this song.
Overall, after listening to some of Greta Van Fleet’s older music, I think this album, Battle of the Garden’s Gate, is a perfect progression for the band’s sound and quality. I could continue on about how much thematically goes into each song, but that would be entirely too long to read. While not every song is a knockout, the ones that are hit it out of the park. I will be looking forward to any of their new music and, in the meantime, catch me vibing in the car pretending I am in an angsty teen movie from the 1980s.
