Max Gardener - Things We Tell Ourselves

Things We Tell Ourselves is the fourth LP from Long Beach indie rock artist Max Gardener, released October 24, 2025 via Sadie Street Records. His first studio record, written between March 2023 and August 2024, then recorded from February through May 2025, Gardener describes it as “Barbecue Pop.”

The concept for the album grew out of an interest in the way we talk to ourselves—the mantras we use to get us through our days. After a few years away from writing, Gardener moved back to Long Beach in early 2023 and found himself tinkering with a new set of songs. “These days, I feel like I’m living with something that I keep calling a ‘delusional sense of optimism,’” he says. “Though, I’ve also come to realize that it’s not actually delusion. It’s really just a strong drive to keep getting better, and that kept coming through when I was writing.” The album is ultimately about choosing hope, even when it doesn’t make sense—trusting you’re going to figure it out.

Musically, Things We Tell Ourselves trades lo-fi bedroom recordings for warmer, fuller production rooted in ’70s rock. Drawing from the likes of Faces, George Harrison, Neil Young, and the Grateful Dead, Gardener calls it “Barbecue Pop”—music meant for easy afternoons, with friends or caught in a beautiful moment alone. Across twelve tracks, the album moves through anxiety (“Stay for Life”), toxic relationships (“Venus”), loneliness (“I Guess”), and tentative steps toward love (“Empty-Handed,” “Ready”), all while asking: what do we tell ourselves to keep going?