Down at the End of the Garden

Down at the End of the Garden is the debut studio album by New Zealand band Cloudboy, released in April 2001.

Down at the End of the Garden
Studio album by
Cloudboy
ReleasedApril 2001 (2001-04)
GenreDream pop
Length56:27
Label
  • Arclife Records
  • Loop Records
ProducerCloudboy
Cloudboy chronology
Cloudboy
(1995)		 Down at the End of the Garden
(2001)

Production

Lead vocalist Demarnia Lloyd of the band Mink first worked on Cloudboy as a side project in 1995, releasing a seven-track extended play.[1] Work began on Down at the End of the Garden in 1997,[2] while Lloyd continued to be an active member of Mink. When Mink disbanded in 1999, Lloyd relocated from Dunedin to Wellington to finish recording the album.[1]

The record was created by Craig Monk, Demarnia Lloyd of Mink and Johannes Contag of the band the Golden Awesome,[1] and was recorded at home studios.[2] The band felt free to experiment with new home studio technology, and attempted to create lush soundscapes to frame Lloyd's voice in compelling and unusual ways, while avoiding established genre sounds.[2] The album is in part inspired by the serenity Lloyd felt among the hills above Wellington.[1]

Release and promotion

The album was released in April 2001,[3] through Arclife in the South Island and Loop in the North Island.[2]

Cloudboy held three performances at the BATS Theatre in March and April 2001 to celebrate the release of the album.[4] After the album saw increased sales and radio play during the bNet NZ Music Week, the band returned to Wellington to perform a one-off show at the Paramount Theatre on 20 May.[5] This was followed by a European tour in September.[1] The band planned to create a remix album based on the tracks of Down at the End of the Garden to gain entry into the world of dance music,[1] but this project never eventuated.

On 22 April 2023, the album was re-released with a revised track listing for Record Store Day through Flying Nun Records.[3] A remastered version of the music video for "(You're So) Pretty" was released a week earlier on 14 April.[6]

Critical reception

Russell Baillie of The New Zealand Herald gave the album four stars out of five, describing Down at the End of the Garden as "an album of foggy atmospheres infused with beguiling melodies care of the breathy vocals of frontwoman Demarnia Lloyd", praising the album as "imaginative pop of just-so poise with a hint of darkness".[7] Russell and Graham Reid from The New Zealand Herald rated it number 12 on their list of top 20 albums of the year.[8]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Demarnia Lloyd

Down at the End of the Garden track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Teaboy"4:06
2."Red Rubicon"3:36
3."Cup of Roses"4:17
4."Tae K (Playground Mix)"0:53
5."(You're So) Pretty"4:04
6."Feudal"5:57
7."Ahoy"4:10
8."Tebo"5:29
9."Walk Along (Promenade Mix)"2:03
10."Daydreamland"4:01
11."Humm"1:02
12."The Play"4:52
13."(Brimea) Pretty"4:23
14."This Long Underwater"5:14
15."No Room Between"3:20
Total length:56:27


Down at the End of the Garden 20th Anniversary reissue track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Teaboy"4:05
2."Red Rubicon"3:38
3."Cup of Roses"4:18
4."Tae K (Playground Mix)"1:03
5."(You're So) Pretty"4:03
6."Feudal"5:59
7."Humm"1:03
8."Ahoy"4:15
9."Tebo"5:30
10."Walk Along (Promenade Mix)"2:02
11."(Brimea) Pretty"4:23
12."This Long Underwater"5:15
13."No Room Between"3:17
Total length:49:00

Credits and personnel
  • Johannes Contag – arranger, mixing, recording
  • Demarnia Lloyd – arranger, recording, writing, vocals
  • Craig Monk – arranger, recording
  • Heath Te Au – recording

Charts
Chart performance for Down at the End of the Garden
Charts (2023) Peak
position
New Zealand Artist Albums (RMNZ)[9] 3

Release history
Release dates and formats for Down at the End of the Garden
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
New Zealand April 2001 CD
  • Arclife
  • Loop
 [3]
Various 22 April 2023
  • Vinyl
  • digital download
  • streaming
 Flying Nun Records [10]

References
  1. Reid, Graham (12 July 2001). "'I wandered lonely as a Cloudboy'". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. "Album Stream: Cloudboy - Down at The End of The Garden (Music Month Special)". Under the Radar. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. "Cloudboy Reissues 'Down At The End of The Garden'". muzic.net.nz. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  4. "CD Reviews". cloudboy.net.nz. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  5. Cubey, Mark (10 May 2001). "Cloudboy Return For One Performance Only". Scoop. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  6. Cudby, Chris (14 April 2023). "Friday Release Roundup - Maxine Funke, The Circling Sun, OP Lilypad, King Loser, Cloudboy + More". Under the Radar. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  7. Baillie, Russell (13 April 2001). "Cloudboy: Down at the End of the Garden". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  8. Baillie, Russell (28 December 2001). "The year's 20 best albums". ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  9. "Official Top 20 NZ Albums". Recorded Music NZ. 29 April 2013. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  10. "Cloudboy - Down at the End of the Garden". Flying Nun Records. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
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