Darker My Love – 2 (Danger Bird)
2/5
By: Dickon Stone
2's Opening track 'Northern Soul' sounds like the start of an Oasis concert, with tones on the lead guitar sounding like the high pitched squeal of a Gallagher brother on harmonica, with distorted rhythm geetarrr churning up the mid range. Thud thud goes the kick drum, and every so slightly David Holmes-y vocals begin to sing. There is even something of Ozzie Osborne and Anthony Kiedis in lead vocalist Tim Presley's voice.
'Blue Day' follows showing off this very raw breed of rock that reminds me of Aussie legends Powderfinger, but with a certain Brit-Pop edge and yet also a blatant 'Jane's Addiction's Dave Navaro guitar solo prowess. And there's Loads of flange happening behind the scenes; organ and distortion, MORE guitar solos - but the good kind - and everything being held up by this sturdy rock bass foundation.
Moving on, 'Two Ways Out' sounds exactly like 'Alright' by Supergrass but slower and edgier. There's heavy distortion in the back of my ears almost in the realm of My Bloody Valentine, and a good amount of reverb on vocals and some choral "oooh"s in backing vox.
We back up the tempo and hit back with the distortion, back with the tom-led drums, and back in flange-central with 'Pale Sun'. Hmm. What started as a fresh rock record is starting to get rather one dimensional...
Oh yuck. 'White Composition' is a massive vocal reverb 'Scarborough Fair'-like chirpy number, all a bit too folky, all a bit... weak. Halfway through the album and another slow track surfaces; jazzy tapping on cymbals, some kind of faux sitar, or maybe a fretless slide? Maybe a real sitar, I can't tell. Now come the guitars, and 'Stone Roses' airy vocals. Where is this going? It's building to something, but... save the album damn you!
YES!
A joyous smash into that kind of blues rock where you just let your whole torso go limp and sway about like a windswept sapling happens. 'Add One To The Other One' just grabbed back my interest in 'Darker My Love'. Furthermore, with a perfect blend into early Pink Floyd-sounding harmonised vocals and Rolling Stone's riffage, 'Even In Your Lightest Day' emerges satisfyingly too.
But more than others, the sound to expect with Darker My Love is 90's British Rock... but with a foreign edge of noisy-ness and heavy (obvious) influence from 70's Blues Rock. This does feel a bit like a band your dad would like and would crank up when your ma's out shopping.
'Waves' cranks it up another notch with 150mph thrashing and drums. This slows eventually to a kind of twisted waltz and that sapling wobble again. So much swing you might fall over before - WHAM - we're right back on the accelerator, straight into 'Talking Words'; with its rather unimaginative set of lyrics, but who cares when a solo that is almost a bit like 'Live Forever' or 'Acquiesce' is sure to ensue?
But 'Immediate Undertaking' is a boring way to finish an album - slow, airy, it's a bit of nothing really. It leaves you with the feeling that all that's happened has been really rather average - a few bangers, but nothing special in all. If this was a mini box of cereal in one of those multipack things, then Oasis would be Frosties, the Rolling Stones would be Coco Pops, but Darker My Love? Corn Flakes.
Artists in this article: Darker My Love
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