Kevin Bronson on December 15th, 2014

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Capping a year that saw them release their second album, “Dunes,” back in February, Santa Barbara’s Gardens & Villa unleashed their sticky sweet synth-pop on the crowd at the Echoplex on Saturday, complete with their characteristic wood flute. The dreamy set highlighted by Chris Lynch’s vocals found a perfect atmosphere in the giant geometric LED lights and heavy smoke. Costumed songstress and self-described “possible humanoid simulation” Geneva Jacuzzi (née Geneva Garvin) took to the stage in the arms of a hooded figure, laid upon a cot that rose above a constructed wasteland of Christmas lights, trinkets and dismembered mannequins. She managed to meander her way through low-fi bedroom recordings, punctuated with her barking orders at three nameless attendants who filled the stage with a melangerie of urban refuse, all under the pomp of [Barbara] Kruger-esque word art preaching largely forgettable maxims. The crowd seemed more confused by the spectacle than entertained, and after exploding several hot-sauce filled balloons, she had thoroughly lost them. However her TRON-meets-Marcel Marceau jumpsuit looked delightful. TV Girl opened the night with a poised set of sun-bleached, slacker indie-pop. Complete with a dressed mannequin on stage, they definitely delighted the crowd. Coupling safe samples with tongue-in-cheek lyrics, their mirthful, droney set the night off right with the college-going crowd in attendance.

Photos and recap by Zane Roessell