Garageland, the New Zealand indie pop outfit, generated considerable anticipation ahead of their sophomore album’s international rollout. The quartet had begun with modest ambitions, astonished to receive college-radio spins and mounting only sporadic concerts in their initial phase, yet they accelerated sharply through the middle of the decade, cultivating a widening listenership and favorable notices.
The story originates in July 1992, when guitarist-vocalist Jeremy Eade, bassist Mark Silvey, and drummer Andrew Gladstone shared their debut performance. A second outing followed twelve months afterward, by which point guitarist Debbie Silvey had joined the lineup. In 1994 the group, taking its name from a Clash composition, supported the Clean and thereby connected with Flying Nun Records. Once signed, Garageland contributed a cover of “Dancing Queen” to the label’s ABBA tribute project, issued its own EP, and completed a maiden Australian tour; the resulting Come Back appeared in 1995 and reached New Zealand’s Top 20.
Their first full-length effort, Last Exit to Garageland, arrived the following year and climbed to a Top Five placement on domestic charts. Subsequent road work carried the Auckland-based quartet to Australia, France, and the United Kingdom. Early in 1997 the band relocated to England, though Debbie Silvey elected to remain in New Zealand. There they encountered guitarist Andrew Claridge, who became a member, enabling extensive touring that included French dates alongside DEUS, multiple English runs with Swell, and two North American excursions—the first alongside Swervedriver, the second with Tanya Donelly—while Last Exit to Garageland received U.K. and U.S. release and the group performed at several European festivals.
Returning for a New Zealand trek in early 1998, Garageland promptly headed back to the United States, joining Spacehog and appearing at South by Southwest. Activity then diminished for several months as the members, by their own account, favored socializing over gigs, postponing work on a second album until late that year. January 1999 brought a short Australasian outing as part of the Big Day Out Festival, after which recording of Do What You Want commenced at the Auckland home studio of former Split Enz member and Crowded House leader Neil Finn. By then the group had resettled in New Zealand; the Flying Nun release went gold locally ahead of its U.S. appearance on Foodchain. U.K. outlets Melody Maker and NME, together with U.S. publications Magnet and CMJ, praised the music, and the album entered the latter’s college-radio Top 50. Claridge departed in 2001, succeeded on guitar by Sweet Baby Dave Goodison.
