The Reds, Pinks & Purples: The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed [Album Review]

The Reds, Pinks & Purples
The Past Is A Garden I Never Fed
Fire Records [2025]

“Jangly, bruised, and beautifully complete—The Past Is a Garden I Never Fed is essential Reds, Pinks & Purples.”

Album Overview: The Reds, Pinks & Purples is the solo project of San Francisco’s Glenn Donaldson, a longtime fixture in the underground scene and former member of Skygreen Leopards and Art Museums. Since 2019, he’s been on a tear—releasing eight albums in six years, each one quietly refining his sound and sharpening his voice. The Past Is a Garden I Never Fed gathers a batch of tracks that never made it to physical format—until now. But don’t call it a B-sides dump. These songs feel cohesive, lived-in, and emotionally on-point. If anything, they offer a clearer window into Donaldson’s creative world: private moments, social jitters, dead-end jobs, and the quiet ache of trying to matter in a world that often doesn’t. It plays less like a loose collection and more like a secret album you weren’t supposed to find.

Musical Style: There’s a raw grace to these songs—jangly guitars, soft drum machines, and Donaldson’s ever-unpolished, always-sincere vocals. It’s indie pop with bite: the kind of music that sounds warm on the surface but cuts a little deeper with every listen. Bright melodies are counterbalanced by lyrics that quietly question everything. Think bedroom recordings that accidentally stumble into brilliance.

Evolution of Sound: Early Reds, Pinks & Purples albums leaned more into the hushed, lo-fi corner of indie pop. Here, things feel more fleshed out—guitars shimmer a little more, rhythms hit a bit harder, and the arrangements carry more confidence. It still feels homespun, but with a broader palette. You get the sense that Donaldson’s letting more color in, maybe even enjoying the process of making things bigger without losing their charm.

Artists with Similar Fire: If you’re into Felt, The Go-Betweens, or Television Personalities, this one will feel like a long-lost cousin. There’s also a touch of Galaxie 500’s dreamy restraint and Trembling Blue Stars’ emotional nuance. At times, you might even hear echoes of Belle and Sebastian’s early wit or Jarvis Cocker’s lyrical eye-rolls. But this is Donaldson’s voice, through and through.

Pivotal Tracks: “The World Doesn’t Need Another Band” sets the tone with equal parts deadpan and heart—it’s funny, true, and just the right amount of bitter. “I Only Ever Wanted to See You Fail” rides a hooky riff into darker waters, while “My Toxic Friend” turns a social post-mortem into an indie-pop earworm. “Slow Torture of an Hourly Wage” is exactly what it sounds like—a painfully real anthem for the underpaid. And “No One Absolves Us in the End” brings it all home with a sigh and a shrug, like a quietly profound final chapter.

Lyrical Strength: Donaldson has a gift for capturing that weird middle space—between trying and giving up, between connection and retreat. His lines often feel like overheard thoughts, full of wit but never jokey, thoughtful without being heavy-handed. Whether he’s skewering music scene nonsense or reflecting on day-to-day malaise, there’s always a thread of humanity pulling it together. He doesn’t offer answers, just sharp observations and the kind of melancholy that feels oddly comforting.

Final Groove: The Past Is a Garden I Never Fed is one of those rare rarities collections that plays like a proper album. It’s cohesive, endlessly listenable, and emotionally sharp without being a downer. If you’ve been following The Reds, Pinks & Purples, it’s a must-have; if you’re just jumping in, it’s as good a place to start as any. Donaldson continues to turn quiet thoughts into brilliant indie pop, and if this is the stuff he left off previous records, it’s exciting to think what he’s got coming next.

THE REDS, PINKS & PURPLES REVIEW HISTORY
Unwishing Well (2024) / The Town That Cursed Your Name (2023) / Summer At Land’s End (2022)

THE REDS, PINKS & PURPLES LINKS
Instagram | Bandcamp | Fire Records