The Darling Fire - Dark Celebration
THE DARLING FIRE RELEASE POWERFUL ‘DARK CELEBRATION’
Melodic rock outfit The Darling Fire dropped their debut album not long ago. It’s called Dark Celebration, and it’s ruthlessly excellent.
The Darling Fire
Made up of Jolie Lindholm (vocals, guitar), Jeronimo Gomez (guitar), Steven Kleisath (drums), Gregg Moore (bass), and Matthew Short (guitar), the band’s pedigree is superb, including former members of Dashboard Confessional, The Rocking Horse Winner, Shai Hulud, Further Seems Forever, and As Friends Rust.
Born out of strife and deep friendship, Lindholm explains the band’s genesis, "Jeronimo and I had a particularly difficult end of the year in 2017/ We’d been wanting to write music together for a while, but life kept getting in the way. The tough time we were having made us realize that life is short and there was no better time. We didn't specifically set out to start a band, per se. It just began to materialize as things started changing, once we started to share what we were working on. It almost took on a life of its own and kept pushing us to move forward, to make this into a real thing."
On Spartan Records, the album was produced by J. Robbins. Referring to the album’s inspiration, guitarist Matthew Short says, "The album is really a celebration of dark themes and experiences that have occurred in our lives both personally and distantly.”
What makes “Saints In Masquerade” so mesmerizing is the melodic flow of Lindholm’s voice, ethereal, yet simultaneously intoxicating.
Encompassing eight-tracks, Dark Celebration begins with “For The Loveless,” opening on hefty dark guitars riding a muscular rhythm, as Lindholm’s evocative voice glides overhead, exuding beguiling smoldering tones.
Highlights on the album include “Omaha,” featuring an oozing brawny intro flowing into a deep resonant tune pulsing with growling riffs and crunching drums. The cavernous mood and feel of the harmonics infuses the tune with delicious undulating textures, souped-up yet edged by gleaming effervescence. This is a great track, showcasing a dazzlingly simple yet haunting guitar solo.
“Silver Spider” is a little reminiscent of Pink Floyd, yet murkier and thicker, as if drifting on viscous guitars full of latent energy. “Saints In Masquerade” is superb, easily the best track on the album, which is saying a lot because there isn’t a subpar track on Dark Celebration. What makes “Saints In Masquerade” so mesmerizing is the melodic flow of Lindholm’s voice, ethereal, yet simultaneously intoxicating.
The final track, “In Twilight” rolls on a measured rhythm rife with captivating opaque colors aglow with compelling breadth and rumbling resonance. Lindholm’s otherworldly tones imbue the lyrics with translucent flavors emphasized by almost antiphonal vocal harmonies awash with luminous hues.
Dark Celebration is undoubtedly one of the year’s best rock albums, full of brawny colors, thrumming rhythms and Lindholm’s nonpareil voice.
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