Dear Darkness - 12/5 - Be Nice Honey

Dear Darkness
Album Release Show ~ December 5
PJs Lager House
(1254 Michigan Ave)
9pm
w/ Mountains and Rainbows
& Sex Police 
Info

Honey, Be Nice 


Dear Darkness has such a splendid snarl to it... The local duo features Stacey MacLeod on guitar/vocals and Samantha Linn on drums. It's a steady-tempo'ed punk, not the speedy throttled stuff you might expect, yet equally as venomous; indulging in minor key murk and raw guitar churns, foot-stomp, snare-punch drums and empowering/cathartic sing/scream exertions that trill over the riffs.

But it isn't all minimalist thwomp and headbangability; the duo experiment with some graceful time-signature switch-ups and vocal acrobatics on the opening "Pale Blue Ribbons" and showcase some of their sweetest melodies during the opening verses of the bittersweetly barbed "Hey, Mister" You'll find similar-ish ingredients from forebears like Bikini Kill, Royal Trux, or maybe even some hints of Siousxie-esque new wave with a mean left hook packing brass knuckles. I know the word "extreme" was getting thrown around a lot in soda commercials and skater vernaculars during the early 90's, but it occurs to me that, with a subdued elegance beneath the coarser punk veneer, MacLeod and Linn are exploring the extremes of whats capable with just the guitar, the human voice and a couple of drums and drum sticks... Gnarly, yet pretty. Demolishing, yet delicate... That's the blend... Dear...and Darkness.