Out of the Garden is a mission statement that underscores the “power” in power-pop and is punctuated by lyrics as razor-sharp as the hooks. Written over a two-year period during a break from touring, the album’s emphasis on re-defining feminine expectations was shaped by primary songwriter JESS ABBOTT's experiences living in Minneapolis and working at a liquor store in a rough part of town. “I learned how to speak up when I needed to and how to truly be myself without reservation,” Abbott recalls. “I felt afraid walking home at night, and after a couple of months I just got sick of it and started getting into self-defense and self-empowerment as a means of coping. Finding my own strength changed everything.” After writing and tracking every song in her apartment, Abbott (also of beloved Minneapolis trio NOW, NOW) enlisted KEVIN MEDINA and TERRENCE VITALI to add drums and bass to her demos. The band then traveled to LA to record with OFF! bassist STEVEN MCDONALD and That Dog vocalist/guitarist ANNA WARONKER. Abbott’s fearlessness to discuss personal topics is referenced in the album’s title, an allusion to exiting Eden and leaving behind all the restrictive cultural norms ingrained in the Biblical “paradise”: tradition, purity, holiness, binary gender, heterosexuality, and the idea that anything is forbidden (especially for women). LP pressed on 180-gram clear teal vinyl.
