It's midterm week here in Boston, which means I have plenty of time to listen to tons of albums while I do work and whatnot. The only downside, is that I don't have the time to WRITE about them, so I am majorly backed up on content! I'll work through it.
Anyway, Darker My Love is a band that on paper, really shouldn't work. Here we have two ex-members of The Nerve Agents, who were in my opinion, one of the most hype punk/hardcore acts to come out of California, starting a psych-rock/shoegazeish type group. Honestly, my expectations weren't that high. It's just such a complete 180 from everything that made The Nerve Agents so great- their speed, how loose and spastic they seemed at all times, threatening to burst at any moment. My friend Patrick here in Boston, who is from Santa Cruz, CA, has told me several stories of seeing The Nerve Agents and describing it as one of the most dangerous experiences he's ever had in his life.
So yeah, complete stylistic left turn, blah blah blah. To be blunt, this album completely failed to engage me upon first listen. Five tracks in, I was ready to dismiss this album as nothing more than Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's first album worship (which was in itself total Jesus And Mary Chain worship). Two degrees away from the original source material.
But then, all of a sudden, this became the little album that could, as quickly as my second spin through it. I realized my initial comparisons were a bit off. I actually started noticing the organ parts scattered throughout, or the harmonies in the vocals, or just how damn well this album is produced. If I had to be lazy, I would go as far as to describe this band as a more laid back Swervedriver, if Swervedriver wasn't so obsessed with, well, driving, or writing albums as awesome as Mezcal Head.
Sometimes it's as simple as a band just putting together a really well crafted album, that pays respects to their influences without being a total rip. This album is nothing explosive, relevatory, or new for that matter, but it's just good, and it seems to get better each time I come back to it.
I've gotten to the point where I'm taking so much music in that I'm finding it harder to look forward to hearing new things. I mean, I'm always open to it, but actively pursuing specific things happens less and less. I'm a complete mess when I go into a record store, because I have no fucking clue what I'm looking for. That being said, since this album has grown on me, I really want to track down a copy of Darker My Love's second album, the aptly titled 2. It feels good to look forward to stuff again.
-Erik
Erik,
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don't have access to a collection to rip music from, as I had when we were at ECB. I suggest you upload a sample track from these albums you highlight onto yousendit or mediafire. Thus, I would be able to appreciate the awesomeness you're plugged into.