• Courtesy
• Community Garden, Me vs Me

(Self-released, digital)

Ever wander around a city at 3 a.m.? Alone under the neon lights, on streets usually thronged with people, you experience a stillness that is at once soothing and concerning. You've found peace and quiet in a place where they don't belong, and there's this palpable absence you can't quite shake.

From the moment I hit play on Community Garden's new EP, Me vs Me, I was overcome with that feeling of walking aimlessly on late-night boulevards. The title track washed in with all the Burlington band's trademark post-punk, glacial indie-rock tones: guitarist Alex Raine's echo-heavy guitars, Remi Russin's wire-taut bassline and drummer Evan Raine's driving, New Order-esque beats. Listening to Alex's ghostly voice singing "Look at me, my worst adversary," I couldn't shake the blurry, red-lights-reflected-on-wet-pavement ennui.

To be fair, I had learned only the day before that Me vs Me serves as Community Garden's swan song. Russin and twin brothers Alex and Evan have been playing music together since grade school. They formed the band Entrance to Trains, releasing the excellent Thirty Days Without an Accident in 2018, before adopting their new moniker two years later and dropping Don't Sweat It.

But, as happens to many a band in the Burlington scene, real life intruded. Alex will move to Albany, N.Y., this summer, bringing what feels like a premature end to one of the area's most promising acts. You see, this is a review for a now-defunct band. After playing a farewell show at Radio Bean last week, Community Garden have ceased to be. And that awareness adds a layer of absence to Me vs Me.

That's not to say the EP is a downer. "You've Got This!" plays like a road map to staying positive, with Alex running through a litany of ways to avoid apathy. Channeling NYC post-punk rockers Beach Fossils, Alex's and Evan's voices harmonize almost robotically over a bouncing rhythm and chiming guitars.

The band recorded with indie musician and producer Kevin Bloom (Dead Shakers) at his SpIcY wOrLd studio, just as they did for Don't Sweat It. Bloom has dialed in Community Garden's sound even better this final go-round. A sharper edge helps to push the band into Sonic Youth territory on "Social Anxiety"— one of the more aggressive moments in the Community Garden catalog.

There's a feeling of lyrical and musical closure on "AGPCFB," which brings both the record and the band to a close. Alex confesses his conflicted feelings — "All in all, I need to do the best thing for me / But every time I try, I just feel selfish and mean" — and the band plays out a long, searching jam that slowly, inevitably winds down.

Rock bands have something in common with comic book characters — they don't always stay dead. Here's hoping Community Garden return one day, but either way, they left us with a wonderful parting gift.

Me vs Me is available at communitygarden.bandcamp.com.