A sense of style that seems to have been missing from indie rock for perhaps a d
author: Delusions of Adequacy
Sounding a bit, perhaps, like Nick Cave and the Tindersticks with hints of gospel, Dark Little Rooms' music is something of an enigma. They don't easily fit into any genre, but then no one expects them to. The vocals are strong and confident, although they don't stand out quite as much as they could. Still, the mixture of piano- and guitar-led numbers works quite well, and for the style the band is performing, they do it extremely well.
The mellow "Losers Game" starts the album with piano and soft vocals but enough of a beat to keep it going at a nice pace, and as the vocals begin to soar, you can hear hints of Jeff Buckley over the mixed guitars and piano. It doesn't quite match the moody pop quality of "Wanted it Simple" and "God Given." With deeper vocals, organ instead of piano, and an emphasis on the guitars, there's a 70s feel to these songs that works quite well. The more gospel-feeling numbers emphasis the piano, like "Colder Before it's Warmer," which also that genre's sense of soul. The backing vocals work wonderfully here. Maybe the most fully fleshed out song here, "In Love and Trouble" is over seven minutes, but it's lovely, with organ and melodic guitar and gorgeous vocals. It also feels the most poppy of all the songs here. Its intense ending also makes for the album's most aggressive and powerful moments.
I can't help but think of gospel music when the vocals really soar and the piano and guitars go along. The songs themselves are not gospel, but the emphasis of the music and the intensity feels like gospel at times. At the foundation, though Dark Little Rooms is moody pop, driven by strong vocals, piano, and a sense of style that seems to have been missing from indie rock for perhaps a decade or two. Nice stuff.
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