Ivy Gardens’ sophomore release, Death of Don Valley, is a record that dares one to meet it in its darkest corners. Moving decisively away from the more buoyant energy of 2024’s Goon, this LP plunges into a heavier and stranger territory that is fueled by historical horror, ecological ruin, and sonic ambition.
At its core, Death of Don Valley is a concept album with teeth. The band frames it around the decaying Don Valley River in Ontario, turning a once living waterway into a metaphor for the broader collapse of environment, morality, and humanity itself. The grim narrative runs through every track, from the breakneck assault of opener “Burn For Murder” to the slow devastation of “Golden,” their ode to solar death.
There’s a tangible shift in the band’s musical risk taking. Ivy Gardens fuses sludge metal with progressive flourishes while stacking distortion and precision into dense structures that expand and contract with surprising control. “Frozen Limbs,” inspired by the survival tale of pilot Martin Hartwell, builds to a moment the band calls ‘perhaps the heaviest’ they’ve ever written. That gravity isn’t just sonic. It’s thematic.
Still, Death of Don Valley never wallows. Even in its bleakest moments, there’s purpose behind the weight. The instrumentals grow more intricate with each listen, and the band’s knack for balancing chaos with clarity is hard won and well earned. Ivy Gardens are playing louder, but also smarter.
By embracing discomfort and pushing beyond the expectations of their genre, Ivy Gardens have delivered a record that refuses to sit still. It’s dark, deliberate, and built to shake venue walls. Death of Don Valley is not just a step forward but a deliberate detour into territory few bands are brave enough to explore.
