Darker My Love Darker My Love

Their self-titled debut upholds the reputation their live show has garnered them. Taking a cue from the greats – My Bloody Valentine, The Velvet Underground –and some influence from their peers – The Dandy Warhols, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Darker My Love’s extraordinary debut establishes them as a vital component in the psychrock scene. “We recorded it with this guy Manny, who has a band called Distortion Felix and cruises around Silverlake.,” Andy explains. “We had met him seven years ago in San Francisco, and he was taught everything he knew by Steve Albini.” And so, the band retreated to his studio in Eagle Rock to churn out the twelve songs they had written almost instantly upon Andy’s return to the band. Album opener (the appropriately titled) “Opening” slinks through your stereo with an iridescent lead guitar, setting the stage for the manic maraca and single note battle cry that opens “What’s a Man’s Paris,” a song bursting at the seams with thick, droning chords and jagged edges of wild feedback. Elsewhere, first single “Summer is Here” opens with a riff that is pure Iggy and the Stooges, “Claws and Paws” turns “Some Velvet Morning” on its head, infusing its lead melody with a damn-near Sabbath-esque guitar onslaught, while “I Feel Fine” is anchored by a Stereolab organ woozy enough to knock you right off your feet. And like any good band, by the last fading note, Darker My Love leaves you wanting much, much more.