With an album packed with sunshine melodies and killer slacker vibes, what’s not to love?<\/p>\n
Darlings\u2019 second full-length album, Feel Better,<\/i> is packed with sunshine melodies and killer slacker vibes. This is hands down one of my favorite recent releases. In fact, it may just be my music taste summed up in ten tracks (though that might be an overstatement).<\/p>\n
This Brooklyn based band has quite the sunny West Coast disposition. Their vibes are very reminiscent of the definitive 90s slacker band, Pavement, but with a more modern slacker accessibility similar to Mac DeMarco. Their music is both upbeat and relaxed simultaneously. Not only is this album well crafted, but also radio friendly (as in accessibility, though it\u2019s also clean).<\/p>\n
Each track is unique yet connected with Peter Rynsky\u2019s deadpan vocals. The first track, \u201cCenturies of Light,\u201d kicks off the album with a groovy summer riff. It\u2019s similar to the guitar melodies of the Allah-Las. It has a wonderful head-bobbing beat that gives off a strong West Coast feel. The next track, \u201cFrom Up Above,\u201d is one of the best tracks. It switches to a more soothing relax tone with harmonies from Maura Lynch. The guitar is just as catchy as the first track. What really sets this track apart from the others are the synths. \u00a0You have to give it a listen to completely understand.<\/p>\n
The album pick up pace with the third track, \u201cGardone,\u201d which has early Pixies Black Francis vibes, but just in the vocals. My other favorite track, \u201cMein the Sky,\u201d is wonderfully mixed. The vocals reminds my of the vocal style of Kimya Dawson, while the bass reminds me of Silversun Pickups\u2019 Nikki Monninger and the guitar has a very Real Estate sounding effect. The track that follows, \u201cBonding,\u201d has a bouncy tune with the same great guitar melodies.<\/p>\n
The most popular song on the album, \u201cI Love You Too,\u201d has more complexities than the other tracks. It has a more in depth mix of more diverse instrumentations. \u201cStrap\u201d switches from a surf rock feel to a 90s alternative influence and back again. \u201cAv Community Events\u201d is just as catchy and jangly. The last two tracks, \u201cAlways Remember\u201d and \u201cSide Spray\u201d end the album on a sweet note. \u201cAlways Remember\u201d is poppy and charming with rad lyrics that make for a great goodbye. \u201c \u201cSide Spray\u201d has a moving melody that will make your head bob. This already amazing album ends strong.<\/p>\n
The Darlings are just as darling as their name suggests. They are interesting, fun, and kings and queens of slacker music. Play this album over and over.<\/p>\n
Recommended Tracks: “Mein\u00a0the Sky,” “From Up Above,” “I Love You Too,” and “Always Remember”<\/b><\/p>\n
Recommended if you like: Pavement, Mac Demarco, Warm Soda, Alah-Las, Pixies,<\/b><\/p>\n
Reviewed by Rachel on February 20, 2015<\/b><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With an album packed with sunshine melodies and killer slacker vibes, what’s not to love?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":33285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3230,181],"tags":[2777,2778,2051],"class_list":["post-33283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-music-rotation","category-rock-rotation","tag-darlings","tag-feel-better","tag-rachel-bennett"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/a3526439170_10.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kjhk.org\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}