Bands to Watch #201: Dark Dark Horse
Ahh, the electronic genre. It’s a mixed bag, isn’t it? Some people love it, others despise it, and then there are those that walk the proverbial tight rope, falling into either category on a given day. For the group of skeptics, let’s introduce you to Dark Dark Horse, a new and unique electronic project from Leicestershire. The three-piece band is fronted by Jamie Ward, who has played roles in notable bands such as Kyte, maybeshewill and Tired Irie.
A post-rock instrumental/electronic outfit, Dark Dark Horse recently released their mini-album ‘Centuries’ in Japan through said country’s label Rallye. And if things go Ward’s way, then the rest of the world will soon be fortunate enough to hear the atmospheric music the relatively new band have recorded. “I have a dream of doing a series of releases round the world slowly getting closer to the UK, touring each one and then arriving in the UK as a tightly oiled machine,” explains the hard-working Ward, who produced the pleasantly polished album.
Similar to Kyte, Dark Dark Horse holds creative and distinct song-writing structures, and it all kicks off with the opening album track, ‘Sharks’. Perhaps the most upbeat and infectious song on the LP, Sharks has a bounty of electro-loops and hooks and all other kinds of musical wizardry, resulting in a perfect and infectious way to draw listeners in. Lush sounds, dreamy landscapes and introspective lyrics blanket the album, and the electro-textures provide listeners a serene trip out of the real world and into another one where one’s imagination can run wild with a pure and organic soundtrack in the background.
Although the chilled-vibe feeling going on in the middle tracks might sound a bit similar to each other (Southwest of Orion, Midnight Mass and Two Gestures), the rest of the album makes up for that, particularly ‘Spit Out Regret’ and ‘The Sound of Muscles That Have Frozen Closed’. The former, for example, opens with a spine-tingling, beautiful piano introduction that instantly draws listener in to a poptastic melody and cleverly crafted song structure which would make the Postal Service drool. Meanwhile, ‘The Sound of Muscles That Have Frozen Closed’ is a tune which seemingly belongs on a Kyte album with semi-hushed vocals, electro-tranquility and an overall placid song worth regularly going back to.
And perhaps that’s what Dark Dark Horse is – a coolly composed band who has the skills and talent to construct a quality album, and if the world listens properly, Jamie Ward will soon find his plan of taking the album to new lands turn into a reality.
One Response
19th December 2010
fucking amazing.