Punk duo the Garden turns aging into a badge of honor on album "Bootleg"

The Garden released their sixth album, "Bootleg," a 14-track record that swings from danceable electronic tracks like "White Cadillac" and "Banned from Paradise" to the industrial sound of "The Mess" to post-punk cuts like "The Kockroach" and "Flailing on the Tracks." Twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears formed the experimental rock band in 2011 as teenagers in Orange County.

Now 32, Wyatt Shears has come to see the years the band has logged as an asset rather than a liability. "I think it's actually a badge of honor," he told the Los Angeles Times, pushing back on the idea that age is something to hide on social media, and citing Motorhead's longevity as an inspiration "to a band like us, who's been going for almost 15 years at this point."

That staying power has translated into real reach: the Garden have played Coachella twice and head out on arena dates with the Strokes next month, following the release of the New York band's own comeback record, The Strokes release first album in six years, "Reality Awaits". Even so, Fletcher Shears said the band isn't chasing bigger stages for their own sake. "I'm very proud to be in this spot I'm at now. If more comes, great. If less comes, that's great too," he said. Wyatt added that simply having an audience still show up, whether at a big venue or a small show in Orange County, "is awesome. That's all I could really ask for."

The brothers described the through-line across "Bootleg" and their five prior albums, including 2015's "haha" and 2020's "Kiss My Super Bowl Ring," as personal rather than sonic. "They all have the same backbone, which is Wyatt and my personalities," Fletcher said, adding that longtime fans can recognize the band's identity across genres "even if it doesn't sound like the last thing that you heard from that person."

The Garden got their start as one of the youngest bands on the roster of the influential label Burger Records, and the twins have built parallel identities well beyond the band, including high-fashion modeling and the black-and-white jester makeup they've worn on and off throughout their career; Fletcher also tours as the drummer for British punk band the Adicts. Fifteen years in, neither brother sounds ready to slow down. "As long as we're inspired, angry and willing to learn, we'll keep making music," Fletcher said. "We're still inspired," Wyatt agreed. "We still feel good... Why stop just because we're a little older?"