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Warren Teagarden’s back with the second part of his three-EP series, and honestly? It’s pretty damn clever.
The San Francisco songwriter is doing something genuinely interesting here. “Haiku Islands Volume Two” has seven tracks. Volume One had five. Volume Three will have five again. Get it? 5-7-5, like a haiku. And yeah, he went full nerd with it—all the numbers are prime, including the total track count of seventeen across all three EPs. It’s the kind of math-rock-adjacent concept that could easily be insufferable, but Teagarden pulls it off because the songs actually hold up on their own.
The Sound
This is garage-punk that’s grown up a little without getting boring. Teagarden recorded at Room 5 with Mark Pistel, then had Grace Coleman mix it at Different Fur (Lien Do mastered it there too). The production’s clean enough that you can hear everything, but it still sounds like actual rock music made by actual humans in a room.
You can hear where he’s coming from—Pixies, The Smiths, Violent Femmes, R.E.M.—but he’s not cosplaying any of them. It just sounds like someone who listened to all that stuff and then made his own thing.
The Songs
“Hella Kismet Shit” kicks things off and it’s about a shitty boss. We’ve all had one. Teagarden turns that everyday misery into something catchy and pointed without whining about it. There’s an actual sense of humor here.
“The Accent” goes moody and nocturnal—it’s about being attracted to someone, with all the atmospheric weirdness that entails.
“Fun Times” is ironically titled (surprise!), but in a way that works. It’s bittersweet without being mopey.
“Learning Love” hands the mic to Eliza Hunt, which shakes things up vocally. The song’s about relationships that fizzled, handled with more maturity than bitterness.
“Birthday” closes out with stories about nights out with New York bands, relationships changing, the usual chaos. Good storytelling that doesn’t overstay its welcome.
Why It Works
Since going solo from Warren Teagarden and the Good Grief, he’s been playing bass and lead guitar himself, bringing in people when it makes sense. The control shows—this feels intentional, not scattered.
The whole haiku concept could’ve been a gimmick, but instead it gives him a structure to work within. Each song stands alone, but knowing there’s a bigger picture makes you pay closer attention.
Bottom Line
This is solid indie rock that doesn’t insult your intelligence. Teagarden writes about growing up and fucking up with enough wit that it never feels preachy. The songs ask questions instead of lecturing you with answers.
With one more EP to go, the trilogy’s shaping up to be worth following through to the end. Volume Two proves the concept’s not just clever—it’s actually delivering good music.
Stream Haiku Islands Volume One: https://soundcloud.com/warren-teagarden/sets/haiku-islands-volume-one
Stream Haiku Islands Volume Two: https://soundcloud.com/warren-teagarden/sets/haiku-islands-volume-one
