Darker My Love – S/T

Darker My Love – S/T / 2006 Dangerbird / 12 Tracks / http://www.myspace.com/darkermylove / http://www.dangerbirdrecords.com / Reviewed 12 August 2006

I think everyone knows by now that 2006 is the year of the retro rock band. Darker My Love got that memo; from the opening track “Opening”, which starts out with a more strung-out version of an AC/DC guitar line all the way to the ending strains of “Summer is Here”, Darker My Love brings the best things about rock back to the fore. The production of this album is without fault. Darker My Love is authoritative in their sound, while still showing that they can create something that is nuanced and easily accessible. The band can very their sound a lot by just shifting their influences slightly. For example, a track like “What’s A Man’s Paris” uses something much more in the vein of Steppenwolf for influence, and the overall sound of the track is much meaty than anything else on this album.

Each of the members of Darker My Love contribute to the band’s overall sound. This is not to say that the bass player is allowed jumping in once or twice per track, but that each member of the act has a substantive and full role in determining how the band will sound. The swirling guitars that open up the track “Helium Heels” have no direct comparison to prior acts, but the vocal style and overall jangly sound seem to bring Darker My Love to the late eighties or early nineties. The band is a new act that is tremendously influenced by the music that was present when they were growing up.

The band is talented enough to go forward with this music and add enough 2006 to each compositions to allow everyone to find something they like with the disc. The band never allows itself to fall into a rut, and each of the tracks are either short enough or the band has inserted enough content that the band can ride the track to its conclusion. Darker My Love might not be as loud or supersonic as The Darkness or Wolfmother, but they provide a new look at the era of psychedelic rock as well as those genres that would immediately follow psychedelic. Through their conversion of older styles to the present day, Darker My Love is able to gain huge audiences. The fact that they show themselves to be so talented on their instruments makes even more people line up for their live shows and whenever the band has a signing.

Top Tracks: Helium Heels, Fall

Rating: 6.0/10

[JMcQ]