You’ve probably seen the face paint. Or maybe you heard a song that sounded like a drum machine falling down a flight of stairs while a punk singer yelled about a jester. If you’re trying to figure out the puzzle band The Garden, you aren't alone. Most people stumble onto them through a TikTok clip or a high-fashion runway show and end up more confused than when they started.
They aren't just a band. Honestly, calling them a "band" feels a bit reductive, like calling a hurricane "some wind."
The Garden is a duo consisting of twin brothers Wyatt and Fletcher Shears. They’re from Orange County, California. Since 2011, they’ve been building this bizarre, insular world they call "Vada Vada." It’s a philosophy. It’s a genre. It’s a total refusal to be bored. If you try to pin them down as just punk, or just electronic, or just hip-hop, you’ve already lost the game.
What is Vada Vada anyway?
Basically, Vada Vada is a term the Shears twins coined to describe their creative output. It means total freedom. No boundaries. No rules. Think of it as an umbrella for everything they do, whether it’s The Garden, their solo projects like Enjoy (Wyatt) and Puzzle (Fletcher), or their fashion choices.
It’s about pure expression.
If they want to write a song that sounds like a 90s jungle track mixed with a spaghetti western soundtrack, they do it. That’s Vada Vada. It’s why the puzzle band The Garden has such a cult following. Fans aren't just buying into the music; they’re buying into the idea that you can be whoever you want, as long as you're authentic about it.
The twins grew up in the punk scene. Their dad was in the band Final Conflict. But they didn't just want to copy the old-school hardcore sound. They wanted something faster, weirder, and more visual. By the time their 2013 album The Life and Times of a Paperclip dropped, people realized these guys weren't joking. The songs were short. Some were under a minute. They were jagged.
The Aesthetic: Jesters, Face Paint, and Saint Laurent
You can't talk about them without talking about how they look. It matters.
Early on, they caught the eye of Hedi Slimane, who was the creative director at Yves Saint Laurent. Suddenly, these two lanky kids from OC were walking runways in Paris. It created this strange friction. On one hand, they were playing DIY shows in sweaty basements. On the other, they were the faces of high-fashion campaigns.
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The Jester Persona
Then came the jesters.
If you look at the cover of Mirror Might Steal Your Charm or watch the video for "Thy Mission," you’ll see the makeup. The jester isn't just a costume for them; it’s a symbol. Historically, the jester was the only one in the king’s court who could tell the truth without getting his head chopped off. He could mock the powerful. He existed outside the social hierarchy.
That fits The Garden perfectly. They mock the music industry while being part of it. They use humor to deflect the "cool" posturing often found in indie rock. It’s brilliant, really. By wearing the paint, they become untouchable. You can't make fun of them because they're already the joke, but the joke is actually a high-level art performance.
The Sound of Chaos
Musically, the puzzle band The Garden is a nightmare for Spotify algorithms. Where do you put them?
- Drum and Bass: Fletcher’s drumming is hyper-active. He loves breakbeats.
- Post-Punk: Wyatt’s bass lines are often distorted, driving, and melodic in a way that recalls 80s UK bands.
- Hip-Hop: Their vocal delivery often leans into a rhythmic, spoken-word style that feels closer to rap than singing.
Take a song like "Call This # Now." It’s catchy, but the structure is nonsensical. It jumps from a garage rock riff into a glitchy electronic bridge. It shouldn't work. But because the twins have such a telepathic connection—that "twin energy" people always talk about—the transitions feel intentional rather than accidental.
They’ve released several full-length albums, and each one shifts the goalposts. Haha (2015) was a breakthrough, showing a more polished (but still weird) production style. Kiss My Super Bowl Ring (2020) felt heavier, almost industrial in places. It had features from people like Ariel Pink and Khalif Jones (Le1f), proving that their circle of influence is massive and varied.
Why "Puzzle" and "Enjoy" Matter
Fletcher records as Puzzle. Wyatt records as Enjoy.
If you want to understand the DNA of The Garden, you have to listen to the solo stuff. Fletcher’s Puzzle project is often more electronic, introspective, and layered. It’s where he explores his interest in synth-pop and experimental beats. Wyatt’s Enjoy project is often more "song-based," focusing on catchy bass hooks and quirky lyrics about daily life and self-improvement.
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When they come together as The Garden, these two distinct energies collide. It’s the combination of Fletcher’s chaotic textures and Wyatt’s melodic foundations that creates the "puzzle band" sound. They are two halves of the same brain, and the solo projects act as the research and development labs for the main band.
The Fanbase: A New Kind of Cult
The Garden's fans are intense. Go to a show, and you’ll see hundreds of kids in jester makeup. It’s become a uniform.
But it’s not just about the clothes. The fans feel like they’re in on a secret. In a world where music often feels manufactured for "vibes" or background listening, The Garden demands your full attention. You can't ignore them. They’re loud, they’re abrasive, and they’re genuinely funny.
There’s also a deep sense of lore. Fans track the twins' various characters—like the "California Here We Go" guys or the goblins from their music videos. It’s a bit like a comic book universe, but with more distortion pedals.
Addressing the Misconceptions
People often think they’re just "trolls." They think the makeup and the weird song titles are a way to hide a lack of talent.
That’s a huge mistake.
If you watch Fletcher play drums, you’re watching a top-tier percussionist. If you listen to Wyatt’s bass playing, you’re hearing someone who has mastered the instrument's ability to lead a track. They are incredibly disciplined musicians who choose to be chaotic. There’s a big difference between being messy because you can’t play and being messy because you want to see what happens when you break the rules.
Also, they aren't "industry plants." Despite the Saint Laurent connection, they spent years playing the smallest venues imaginable. They built their following brick by brick, mostly through word of mouth and a relentless touring schedule. They’ve stayed DIY in spirit, even as their production budgets have grown.
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How to Get Into The Garden
If you’re new to the puzzle band The Garden, don't just hit "shuffle" on their entire discography. You'll get whiplash.
Start with Mirror Might Steal Your Charm. It’s arguably their most "accessible" work while still being completely insane. Tracks like "No Magician" and "Stallion" give you a good sense of their energy.
From there, move to Kiss My Super Bowl Ring. It’s darker and more aggressive. It shows their growth and their willingness to embrace a bit of ugliness. Finally, go back to the early stuff like The Life and Times of a Paperclip to see where the raw, minimalist roots began.
Real World Impact and Legacy
The Shears twins have influenced a whole wave of "art-punk" bands that don't want to fit into the traditional indie mold. They’ve shown that you can be successful without compromising your weirdness. You don't need a radio hit. You don't need to follow TikTok trends—though they often trend anyway just because they're visually interesting.
They represent a shift in how Gen Z and younger Millennials consume art. It’s not about genres anymore. It’s about "worlds." You don't just listen to the music; you enter the Vada Vada world.
Practical Next Steps for New Listeners
If this sounds like your kind of chaos, here is how you actually dive in:
- Watch the Live Performances: Go to YouTube and look up their KEXP sessions or live sets from Coachella. The energy on stage is where the music really makes sense. You need to see Fletcher jumping between a drum kit and the front of the stage to get the full effect.
- Explore the Solo Catalogs: Listen to Puzzle's album Tighten the Reins and Enjoy's Exploited. It helps you identify which twin is bringing which element to the Garden tracks.
- Follow the Visuals: Check out their music videos. They are self-directed or heavily influenced by the twins. They provide the visual context for the songs, especially the recurring characters and the "jester" motifs.
- Ignore the Labels: Stop trying to figure out if it's "punk" or "rap." It's just Vada Vada. Once you stop trying to categorize it, the music becomes much more enjoyable.
The Garden is a reminder that music can still be unpredictable. In an era of polished pop, two twins in jester makeup playing distorted bass and breakbeats is exactly what we need. They are the puzzle that doesn't need to be solved; it just needs to be experienced.
Check out their official Vada Vada website for tour dates and limited merch drops, as they often sell out in minutes. If you get a chance to see them live, bring some face paint. You won't be the only one.