Darlings’ grungy garage rock brings back some 90s nostalgia, with that kind of attitude that is lackadaisical yet sounding effortlessly put together. Their simple-yet-extremely-catchy hooks got stuck in my head almost immediately. The first song off their new EP, Warma, titled “Dont’ Be So Hard on Yourself” may bring to mind the catchy boy/girl harmonies of The Rentals. They have that trade-off on vocals, but the song is decidedly more guitar-driven than synth driven. The second song, “Spit It Out” is pure, poppy, rolling-along goodness. The whole EP is full of simple but catchy guitar melodies, and especially on “Everybody” they harken back to more obscure 90s bands like Beat Happening, with the same dazed catchiness. Did I mention these guys are catchy? The standout song for sure is their lead single off the EP, “Big Girl.” This song will get stuck in your head for days. I still can’t get it out. You can check out the video here:
Darlings aren’t trying to reinvent the indie wheel or anything – it’s more like they are taking inspiration from a great decade for music and paying homage to it. I bet these guys grew up on bands like Pavement and Sonic Youth, because this EP comes off as a meld of the two. This is going to be my new go-to record when I want to just sit back, put on headphones at work and shirk my responsibilities. Warma is out now on Famous Class. No further tour dates scheduled yet, but I’m sure they’ll get around to it. Keep an ear out for these guys.
