Friday, July 15, 2016

MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: DARK FOR DARK - ALL DRESSED



Lots of groups get called folk-pop these days, but this Halifax band sounds like I think that's supposed to be. There's a 60's vibe for sure here, with the right amount of jingle-jangle Byrds guitar, and plenty of haunted harmonies. The trio has captured the right simplicity of those tuneful times, when you could hear each instrument and word, but adds just enough of a today vibe to remind us of what's happened since.


As an official old person, it's incumbent upon me to point out the connections between Dark For Dark and the lineage of Halifax-scene artists such as Jale, Plumtree and Julie Doiron (honorary), with that certain lo-fi, off-mic aura on all the cuts. But there are far more differences than similarities here, with the six cuts on this E.P. (the group's second release) coming off as an a dreamy vision of what California must have been like for a few minutes in 1965.


Hats off to the cool words of writer Rebecca Zolkower, the lovely group vocals, and the nifty way they end a couple of the cuts, including Moon Full Moon, with its quick minor key change stop. It's not scary or surprising, just a reminder that things aren't as pretty as they seem.

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