Down at the End of the Garden explained

Down at the End of the Garden is the debut studio album by New Zealand band Cloudboy, released in April 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. Work began on Down at the End of the Garden in 1997, 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. 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. 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, 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.^[3] 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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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]

Credits and personnel

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

Charts

Chart (2023)! scope="col"

Peak position
New Zealand Artist Albums (RMNZ)[9]	3

Release history

Region! scope="col"

Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
New Zealand	April 2001	CD
Various	22 April 2023		Flying Nun Records	[10]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'I wandered lonely as a Cloudboy' . Graham . Reid. The New Zealand Herald. 12 July 2001 . 29 April 2023.
2. Web site: Album Stream: Cloudboy - Down at The End of The Garden (Music Month Special) . 13 May 2013 . Under the Radar . 29 April 2023.
3. Web site: CD Reviews. https://web.archive.org/web/20190116114219/http://cloudboy.net.nz/reviews.html . 16 January 2019 . cloudboy.net.nz . 29 April 2023.
4. Web site: Cloudboy Return For One Performance Only. Mark . Cubey. Scoop . 10 May 2001. 29 April 2023.
5. Web site: Cloudboy Reissues 'Down At The End of The Garden' . 24 April 2013 . muzic.net.nz . 29 April 2023.
6. Web site: Friday Release Roundup - Maxine Funke, The Circling Sun, OP Lilypad, King Loser, Cloudboy + More . 14 April 2023 . Chris . Cudby . Under the Radar . 29 April 2023.
7. Web site: Cloudboy: Down at the End of the Garden . Russell . Baillie. The New Zealand Herald. 13 April 2001 . 29 April 2023.
8. News: The year's 20 best albums. Baillie. Russell. 28 December 2001. 22 February 2019. en-NZ. 1170-0777.
9. Web site: Official Top 20 NZ Albums. Recorded Music NZ. 29 April 2013. 29 April 2023.
10. Web site: Cloudboy - Down at the End of the Garden. Flying Nun Records . 29 April 2023.