Multi-instrumentalist Jennifer Baron first gained notice through her work with 1990s lo-fi group Saturnine and later as a participant in Brooklyn’s Elephant 6 scene via the Ladybug Transistor, whose initial Merge Records trilogy comprised Beverley Atonale (1997), The Albemarle Sound (1999), and Argyle Heir (2001). After moving to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she inaugurated her own vehicle, the Garment District, in the early 2010s. The project’s debut, Melody Elder, appeared on Night-People in December 2011; Baron composed and arranged the material, which was tracked with Kevin C. Smith, included vocals from cousin Lucy Blehar, and featured bass contributions from Jowe Head of Television Personalities and Swell Maps. A subsequent three-song 7-inch on French imprint La Station Radar, containing the Sonic Boom remix of “Nature Nurture,” followed in 2012.
Baron’s next two albums arrived in rapid order: If You Take Your Magic Slow on Night-People in 2014 and Luminous Toxin on Kendra Steiner Editions in 2015. The former was captured by Greg Langel and Greg Matecko with performances from Baron, Blehar, bassist Matt Booth, and drummer Chris Parker, while the latter was realized solely by Baron and engineered by herself alongside Langel; both sets incorporated her customary field recordings. During this period the Garment District appeared at Ladyfest events, participated in the Andy Warhol Museum’s Silver Studio Sessions, and supported Jenny Hval.
The project’s fourth full-length, Flowers Telegraphed to All Parts of the World, issued by Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records in September 2023, reunited Blehar on lead vocals within an expanded ensemble that included guitarist/vocalist Dan Koshute, bassist Corry Drake, drummers Shivika Asthana of Papas Fritas and Sean Finn of Life in Bed, additional singer Alex Korshin, and further contributors. Strings, horns, and Baron’s carefully selected palette of analog synthesizers—most notably the Farfisa Syntorchestra and Sequential Pro One—plus 808 drum samples and assorted effects rounded out the arrangements.
