Halfway between the annals of fertile folk balladry and the immediacy of pop-rock sensibility lies Darlingside’s simply titled “EP 1.” The self-produced six-track effort, released earlier this year, marks the Noho quintet’s recording debut. As far as debuts go, however, it’s hard to believe this is the rag-tag band of musical twenty-somethings’ first offering. Rarely does a debut encompass such a mature, cohesive and evolved sound.
Darlingside’s sonic footprint on “EP 1,” self-described as “string rock,” is somewhat contradictory, in a way. Throughout, the songs remain melodically accessible and instantly appealing to the ears in the same manner that any homogenous mix of rock n’ roll and pop should. At the same time, it’s not familiar and debased to the glossy formulas of your average soft rock quintet. Darlingside’s eclectic choices of instrumentation, which include the likes of mandolin, violin, cello and pennywhistle, in addition to the standard rock instrumentation of drums, guitars and vocals, tease out a sound that tends to transcend upon itself several times within one four-minute song. Blending flavors of folk, classical, blues and jazz over a strong pop-rock foundation, Darlingside produces songs you can’t deny in ways you’ve rarely heard.
From the onset of the lingering and intertwining guitars that mark the intro to “Good Man,” the album’s opener, the mood is set for a musically compelling experience built upon near-virtuoso level instrumental chemistry. The songs of “EP 1” throw their weight behind the cardinal rule that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Guitar riffs and melody lines that would be pleasant enough on their own organically combine in a carefully crafted yet melodically expansive manner. The result is a series of flourishing verses and uplifting choruses that effortlessly come together to create songs that are at once harmonically deep and yet insanely catchy and sing-along-worthy.
While “EP 1” offers up a few slices of straightforward rock ballads with “Good Man” and the swaying ebb and flow of “The Catbird Seat,” Darlingside are clearly at their best when they’re readily mixing and steadily defying seemingly incongruent genres. “Malea,” a mysteriously compelling track which flawlessly merges down and dirty break beats with an ominous string section, gives the record’s pacing a midway shot in the arm, proving gentle numbers are not the band’s only forte.
As the chorus rolls around in “All That Wrong,” the song changes gears from a swishing slow-roller to an acoustic-punk romp, leaving the listener wondering if the string-rockers suddenly grew mohawks halfway through the tune.
Clearly displaying such mature musical prowess, it’s nothing short of astonishing that Darlingside manages to match, if not exceed their instrumental abilities in the vocals department on “EP 1.” Not since the likes of The Beatles or Crosby, Stills and Nash has there been a rock outfit wherein every member contributes so meaningfully to the vocal tracks of nearly every song. Individually, from the fragile falsetto of “Surround” to the laid-back crooning of album closer “In The Morning,” each member of Darlingside is clearly a talented singer. When their voices join together in harmony, however, it’s about as close as you’re going to get to a religious experience through a pair of headphones. With lush, five-part harmonies abounding at every turn, the vocals on this record are about as perfect as one could humanly wish for.
Perhaps the only shortcoming of this EP is just that: it’s too short. At the close of the sixth and final track, the only thing the listener is left wanting is more. It’s hardly a mystery, considering the genre transcending, expert-level instrumentation and the insanely spotless vocals coupled with a beyond-their-years musical maturity and cohesiveness. As debuts go, this one is pretty faultless.
David Coffey can be reached at [email protected].
