Darker My Love’s gauzy, unhurried sound was all homage at the Gothic Theatre on Saturday. MySpace pic by .
Psychedelic, psychedelic, blah, blah, blah. Your eyes may very well be glazing over already. The revival has been spiraling solidly onward since the ’80s, starting most notably with California’s Paisley Underground. It’s to be expected, though. In a time where culture is hurtling towards the hyper-microcosmic, it’s no wonder that someone, somewhere aches for simpler times. Luckily, isn’t so doped-up on nostalgia as to be repellant.
A solid rock band hailing from an unlikely punk family (the Nerve Agents, the Distillers, the Fall and technically, T.S.O.L.), Darker My Love plays earnest, well-dressed pop with a wistful yearning. First off, it’s a formula that works: high, skinny vocals, gooey phaser and reverb effects, and drums with a heavy footfall. Added to this fudgy musical swirl is an organ, a clavinet and an electronic tanpura drone, whose sounds, historically, are linked directly with the sensations of “mind expansion.”
Saturday’s gig at , I suspect, kept the cries of “Get a haircut!” trapped squarely in the throats of old codgers everywhere. Fringe tenderly swept the eyes, to be sure, and a liquid light show a la Jefferson Airplane bloomed sleepily in the background. Vocalists Tim Presley and Rob Barbato bounced gently in time, eyes closed, as tonal layers tumbled forth from guitarist Jared Everett, multi-keyboardist Will Canzoneri, and drummer Andy Granelli.
The music, although temperate, lacks domesticity. It is still recognizable as the oneiric soundtrack of youth, humming gently with tension. The clatter of strobe lights onstage bolstered this notion as they punctuated each thunderous choral surge.
Overwhelmingly, Darker My Love plays in the distinct state of non-crisis. It’s the music of simple pleasures, of sunny traverses and small thrills. It’s driving music, small suitcase music. The warm yellow lights, fog machine and cuffed jeans keep things classy; experimental, this is not. This is an homage, played with modest delectation and hollow-bodied guitar. When playing, the band harmonizes well in tune and in behavior; the scalps and torsos grow appropriately sweaty, and the galloping pace keeps the listeners’ spirits and endurance high. They are a band that congregates appealingly on a stage and they evoke a comforting, paradigmatic feeling of what it’s like to go to a concert.
Of the many contemporary bands sharing a similar musical ideal, Darker My Love is worthy, enjoyable and winkingly evocative of early rock. They may not be doing anything grossly innovative (who really does these days?), but they do it richly, with a thick, beautifully marbled sound and a poppy perk.
Alex Edgeworth is a Denver writer and regular Reverb contributor.
