Saturday night, Los Angeles’ Darker My Love played a hard and dark acid rock set supporting The Dandy Warhols on their headlining tour. The five piece’s psychedelic approach to music was beautifully accented with a large project screen behind the band playing a series of trippy visualizations, which bummed me out about the box office not having my photo pass.
Darker My Love’s ambient set was often dark, heavy and lush with reverb as drummer Andrew Granelli decimated his kit with tight beats. Rob Barbato‘s bass lines droned on as vocalist Tim Presley, also on lead guitar, lulled the audience with his smooth vocals and modern Brit rock influences. A great deal of the poppy yet moody atmosphere came from Will Canzoneri‘s clavinet melodies that often flip flopped between an airy mellowness and a raging intensity. Much of their playing had me thinking of Radiohead sans the distinct vocals of front man Thom Yorke.
It was clear from their minimal interaction with the crowd that Darker My Love meant all business up on stage, which paid off for a particularly tight set. The most exhilarating aspect of Darker My Love’s performance came as Granelli and rhythm guitarist Jared Everett raced each others beats and riffs, respectively. The two created a monstrous energy for several minutes before the song fell back into a mellow vibe, spiking once more with intensity before ending on a lulling progression.
Sporadically, 60s pop flourishes would make a captivating appearance and one song seemed to sample Supergrass‘ “We Are Young.” The contrast of moody ambiance and lighter pop songs kept the set interesting while musically it was intricate enough to makes the vocals unnecessary but a nice accessory to the songs.
Catch Darker My Love on tour now with The Dandy Warhols through the end of the month before they head to London for a string of dates.
Darker My Love: blog | myspace
Pingback: Ticket Giveaway: Darker My Love @ Mercury Lounge | popwreckoning