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Darlings Keep Winter Warm |
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Written by Rafay Agha
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Monday, 22 October 2007 |
Breezy, plucky guitars layered with male-female harmonies shroud the restrained urgency of lyrics written by Montreal-based band the Darling DeMaes. Their debut acoustic EP Winter Keep Us Warm, released in May 2007, features eight tracks dealing with ambivalence, hopefulness and love. Gaining exposure and momentum in recent months by playing in popular Montreal festivals like the Montreal Fringe and the Indyish Monthly Mess, these indie darlings might be the next big act out of Montreal’s thriving music scene that has produced bands like Arcade Fire, Stars and The Dears.
While teaching English in Korea, vocalist Erik, originally from Vancouver Island, wrote and played most of the songs in many of the Western bars. Citing Nirvana as his initial reason of picking up a guitar at age twelve, Erik also lists off influences ranging from The Beatles to The Smiths, and Nick Cave to The Pixies.
The album is easy to absorb and get into, allowing the listener to achieve greater meaning with every listen in part to broodier lyrics sung sweet. Relying mostly on vocal harmony and guitars, the DeMaes pepper their sound with the glockenspiel, mandolin and melodica, creating a sound likened to Belle and Sebastian, The Shins or Paul Simon. Darker lyrics such as “I saw a show at four o’clock, maybe five. It showed this picture of a young girl who died. She lay face down, a man drove a nail through her head, and as she died her body shook, and they had sex,” contrasts with the up-tempo mood in the song “A Day in Her Life.” Named after a dead porn star, the band enjoys walking the line between sweet, melodic guitar-driven melody on the surface with something a little darker and moodier in the subtext.
Recorded in just ten hours, in a style similar to 1960s Phil Spector ‘Wall of Sound,’ production technique, the EP is available for free download at http://www.darlingdemaes.com and features band members Erik, Elysia and Buz “just playing.” The results are natural, organic and seemingly effortless. The band’s formation mimics their sound as well – Erik was playing open mics around Montreal when he met a Quebecois “music nerd,” Buz, online. A newspaper advertisement later, and vocalist Elysia joined Erik and Buz on the Darling project.
The Darling DeMaes are currently on tour and will be playing at Cameron House on Queen Street West on October 27 with the Coal Mine Canaries. Having already written approximately forty songs since putting out the EP, Erik, a self-proclaimed “fast writer,” hopes to record an album more representative of the “clear vision” he sees his band heading towards, especially now that he’s proven what his gang of musicians “just playing,” can accomplish. For more information on the bang, upcoming gigs, lyrics and songs check out their MySpace page: http://myspace.com/theDarlingDemaes
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