Davíd Garza writes, refines, and performs small armies of songs, which by some twist of luckless fate have remained in the margins while similarly talented songwriters from Jeff Buckley to Damien Rice have dented the greater consciousness. Garza, who grew up in Texas but now lives in Los Angeles, couldn't be blamed for feeling that his window of opportunity has passed: His two terrific major-label albums (1998's This Euphoria and 2001's Overdub) live in more discount-CD bins than nurturing homes. But unimpeded by—or maybe just uninterested in—his lack of commercial success, Garza has continued to write and record at a furious pace, releasing CDRs via the Internet, popping up on other people's albums, and showcasing weekly at the hot L.A. club Largo.
For his first widely available release in three years, Garza rejects the idea of a traditional album and refuses to act as his own gatekeeper: A Strange Mess Of Flowers boxes up more than 10 years' worth of songs on four CDs and a DVD for a set whose title couldn't be more appropriate. From lovingly crafted pop songs to messy home constructions, A Strange Mess throws everything Garza has at the wall, without regard to chronology or style. Strangely (and messily), it makes sense, because even as somber, quiet love songs bump up against muddled spoken-word bits, Garza's personality blazes through.
Four hours of Garza's musical musings certainly won't suit everyone, but plucking and reassembling the best from the box—which costs about the same as two regular discs—could make for a dozen excellent single-disc combinations. A collection of A Strange Mess' ballads would be particularly striking, as Garza's tenor (and frequent falsetto) injects songs like "Joan Of Arc" and "In Eclipse" with chilling charm. But the bold move of A Strange Mess doesn't allow for such limitations: Instead, it unapologetically pushes forward every side of Garza's craft. Some of its songs may not have spent enough time in development, but A Strange Mess Of Flowers succeeds in showcasing the totality of an incredibly varied and naturally skilled songwriter.