darker my love

all you need is 45 minutes and six seconds

Let’s not fuck about here. It’s 2009. Some people say the world is coming to a close. The sun is getting hotter. Ice isn’t what it used to be. Irony is dead, and spring no longer exists.

Everyone everywhere is sick and tired of the rock and roll ruse. And, so, an authentic rock and roll outfit has its work cut out. On its sophomore release, 2, Darker My Love is sure as hell up for the task at hand. This is a band with a big engine. They paint on a titanic canvas. It’s a widescreen, 3D, posi-traction kind of scenario. They want to get you worked up and they want to take you somewhere. “Music is an escape,” explains drummer Andy Granelli.

This band has no choice but to do what they do: they are a gang and their weapons are musical prowess and artistic ambition. Words + music + feeling = what these five guys were put on earth to do.

Though they come from all over the U.S. they all came up through the same portal: back room and basement shows, forgettable bands and passion they can’t shake. 

Sitting with Darker My Love, you realize things are clear among them. They know who they are. And they know who they are not. They work hard. They finish each other’s sentences. They take direction when they know it’s needed. 2 was produced by Dave Cooley (Silversun Pickups, J Dilla) who Rob describes as “a good guide through this endeavor.” He adds, “It was a large scale record. He was really good at encouraging us and experimenting with different ideas.”

“We didn’t want to work with anybody,” reveals Jared. “We were used to doing it on our own. Without Dave the record wouldn’t have been made the same way.” Mixing duties were handled by Tony Hoffer (The Kooks, Air).

Enough talk. Let’s listen.

As the needle drops, “Northern Soul” sets the pace. This ride is going somewhere dark. You’re already on the train and you ain’t getting off. Next comes “Blue Day,” which pins and mounts you like a butterfly.

“Two Ways Out” is everything a great rock single ought to be: reaching, bright and –get this– hopeful. Rob explains: “I was in the hospital in LA with a 105º fever. I felt really alone. The band started driving to New York to play a show. Meanwhile, my cell phone was dead and I had a lot of time to think. It was a scary experience. You realize though, bad stuff does happen to you and a positive mental outlook can get you out of any situation. Even at your lowest moment.”

Tim finishes the thought: “You have to make peace with either one.”

“Even In Your Lightest Day” is an ode to day job dread. “Like, I’d rather be anywhere else than going through this door,” says Tim. The record persists with no relief. The more you hear, the more you feel. And Darker My Love is a band that you must feel. If you dig, you dig. If you don’t, you will. All you need is 45 minutes and six seconds. If you have headphones, use ‘em. If your stereo’s got a tachometer, all the better.

This is a band that doesn’t merely want your attention. It aims to do something with it. There ain’t no come ons, put ons, build ups or tear downs. They are not here to posit or pontificate. They are here to affect your now, your here, your is. Sometimes a rock and roll outfit is loved for saying what others find hard to say – the voice of the oppressed, the shit on. Darker My Love isn’t concerned with all that. They are here to take you away from all that thinking stuff.

“This record is a hitchhiker’s guide to getting through LA,” says Jared. The intensity in his eyes underlines the point.

“LA’s supposed to be this la-la land,” says Tim. “But it’s got some dark secrets.”

They go on to talk about the hope, the hype, the bleakness, the shrouded sadness dripping from the sky, apathetically melting in the caustic sunshine. The sadness in the eyes of the ones who got left behind: the actress-waitress, the bartender-writer, the singer-nanny, all waiting to lose the hyphen. “LA keeps you young, cos you’re always searching for something,” Tim explains. “You’re working toward this thing–but you could be 48 by the time it happens.”

Jared jumps in: “If it doesn’t come, that’s the sad part.”

But Rob reminds us there is hope. “This record is a manual to help you deal with daily existence.”

2 is done. You are in the heart of darkness. You feel the warmth of the sun. But the sun can’t burn the shadows off. You don’t even want it to. You feel good. You. Feel.