Peach
This article was originally written for Music Scene Media.
Last month, up-and-coming superstar Grace Gardner sat with °1824 ahead of the release of her debut EP, Peach. The Texas native burst into the indie scene, bringing heartbreaking lyrics, crystalline vocal tone, and deeply layered instrumentation. If that wasn’t a strong enough sell, her discussion during the press conference revealed a clever, committed, and consummate artist. Her personal focuses on growth and intentionality mean that everything from the lyrics to the “Easter Eggs” on her EP artwork are meaningfully chosen to evoke emotion. In order to establish herself as a musician, Gardner worked endlessly on her craft. Between teaching music, studying songwriting, gigging, and constantly practicing, she was able to find the necessary confidence in her abilities to reach that next level.
Album Artwork via 1824
Despite being in her early twenties, Gardner’s influences show her old soul. She was raised on her parents’ love of 70’s & 80’s rock and folk, and credits Fleetwood Mac as her biggest inspiration and Stevie Nicks as her dream collaborator. Gardner also spent four years living in New Orleans, watching and learning from local jazz musicians. She feels that these year were critical to her development as a musician, giving her a sense of complex instrumentation and driving her to experiment with more than just “one track vocals and guitar.” In fact, Gardner plays ten instruments herself. At the end of the day, Gardner aims to create auditory experiences in her music, which is much more impactful with multiple layers of sound. From a songwriting perspective, Gardner uses music as a processing tool. She writes to handle what she adorably calls “big feelings,” and comments that releasing music brings her closer to and closer to the most authentic self. After learning about object writing in a songwriting course, Gardner admits that she can find inspiration almost anywhere. When writing, she tries to tell her stories through the other players’ eyes. It helps her to heal and see the situation in a new light.
Her EP, Peach, was released on March 3 with four tracks: “Deny Me,” “Parcel,” “Acrobatics,” and “Designated Driver.” All four show off Gardner’s signature sound, but only “Deny Me” and “Parcel” had been released at the time of this conference. A deeply personal project, Peach was entirely self-produced at Gardner’s desk, with any contributing instrumentals recorded remotely and emailed to her. Despite admitting it was a lonely experience, Gardner’s deeply proud of producing the EP herself. It gave her the ultimate control of her narrative. However, collaborating ended up being Gardner’s favorite part of the process, and she is looking forward to more creative partners on her album.
The EP’s title, Peach, is a nod to her childhood in rural Texas, but also a reference to the movie trope where a peach foreshadows conflict (especially in queer cinema). For a bit of added cheekiness, Gardner also giddily admits her ex’s cat is also named Peach. The EP is Gardner’s way of facing loss, both in romance and friendship, with mournful and sometimes spiteful lyrics. The first single, “Deny Me,” is accompanied by her first video. Gardner collaborated with a close friend and filmmaker Olivia Maaghul to create something heartbreakingly beautiful and wistful, leaning heavily into imagery and symbolism. The visuals elevate it from being a typical “break up” music video, instead bringing the focus to Gardner’s emotional state. Her next single, “Parcel,” brings an evolution. Despite also starting as a sad acoustic track, she decided to add in percussive instrumentation, bringing an edge and “pep” to song. Keeping with the theme of cheeky references, saying “parcel” instead of “package” was an inside joke with her ex, so it’s only fitting to use in the title of a break up track. Gardner uses her skills as a songwriter and producer to create pieces that give listeners a spiritual cleanse once the track ends, and Peach is no exception.
Gardner just wrapped up a quick tour with Adam Melchor, but she plans on finishing her album and releasing another video before the year is over. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch her on the next tour to hear all of the tracks on Peach and her “gay yearning” take on “Jesse’s Girl.” Definitely keep an eye on Grace Gardner, she’s only just getting started.
