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When he visits Mississippi Pizza’s Atlantis Lounge in October, Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter Garth. hopes his guests are on their worst behavior.
“Be your most free self because that’s going to help us as well,” he says. “I want people to know we get down.”
As Garth. (just pronounced “garth,” not “garth period”) tours his new album, Good Taste, his Portland stop comes as a favor to a cousin, who has lived in Oregon for years and begged him to perform here when he visits. Good Taste is Garth.’s fifth full-length album since his debut, Human Nature, from 2018. A genre sampler fusing influences such as pop, R&B, disco, classical and trap, Good Taste is vibey yet cerebral, even if that’s not Garth.’s full vision.
“I’ve always said that if I’m going to write songs, I want them to sound stupid,” he says. “It’s OK for a song to be fun or tongue in cheek or silly, then equally sometimes I might get more autobiographical or moody, but I don’t ever want to feel pigeonholed in one way.”
Born Garth Taylor Jr., the singer has had to fight for his own identity. A South African singer already claims Garth.’s birth name, to say nothing of his father and Garth Brooks.
“Even within my own family, I needed a unique identifier,” he says.
Good Taste concerns how refinement is defined around the world in music, art and food. Garth. is a multi-instrumentalist whose piano, flute and French horn skills are informed by classical music and jazz. The gorgeous opening arrangement, “Intro (Op. 1 in G Minor for Strings and Flute Ensemble Pt. 1),” intentionally plays with pretentious expectations in its title, knocking out obvious associations in under a minute so the party can really start.
“Rice n Peas” is a reggae-inspired homage to Garth Taylor Sr. and Garth.’s Caribbean heritage, which is light and breezy without sounding like a Wailers track. “VIP” is a club anthem celebrating a woman who’s left her loser boyfriend at home that sounds like anyone could enjoy it regardless of sexual orientation.
“Normalize men holding shitty men accountable. Normalize men supporting women,” he says. “I have friends across the Kinsey Scale, and I have the same expectations of them.”
When writing song lyrics, Garth. doesn’t feel like he has to only write about his experiences, or write for any particular audience. He intentionally chooses a gender-neutral perspective in the pursuit of universal appeal.
“I believe if you write stories, they should be for everyone,” he says. “I am a person who loves people and tries to reflect experiences of people, and that means all people. I will not be shamed for all the different kinds of people I know and love and support.”
Though the majority of songs are upbeat and lighthearted, this isn’t the case for all of Good Taste. An angry voice message skit is prelude to “Why You Mad?” a prototype diss track aimed at nobody in particular but more an exercise in writing and performing an aggressive, metal-tinged track.
“It took a lot for me to be like, you know, it would be fun to do this kind of trap thing, but would I really put this on a record?” he says.
Garth. advances the Good Taste concept at his merch booth, where he sells a “celebrity fragrance” he developed with a candle company called Alatreyu, along with music. Good Taste, the fragrance, is an oceanic blend of woods and spices featuring notes of rock salt, sea spray, sage, ashwood, cardamon and ginger moss.
“I thought it would be a fun novelty item, to build a signature fragrance around the album,” Garth. says.
As he gets further into his career, Garth. says he feels like he has less to prove, which opens him up to have more fun onstage and in the studio.
“It’s like my song ‘VIP,’ which starts, ‘I pull up in a Range Rover…’ and I don’t have a Range Rover,” he says. “I felt like I wanted to do some posturing as well. Any time I do the song live, I tend to say, ‘I do have a college education,’ but every once in a while you want to be stupid and nonsensical and fantastical and all the things. I’ve been getting more comfortable showing the sillier side of myself.”
SEE IT: Garth. at Mississippi Pizza and Atlantis Lounge, 3552 N Mississippi Ave., 503-288-3231, mississippipizza.com. 8 pm Saturday, Oct. 4. $24.40.
