We do like a mystery and that is what kind of comes with US electro/rock artist DARWIN. Exploring his new EP, Everything’s Gone Green, we found a few glimpses to his presence and background but what was not hiding in the shadows was that he creates a sound which casts rich captivation.
Hailing from Santa Rosa, California, Darwin Meiners released his debut album, Starfishing, in 2012; a record produced by David J (BAUHAUS/ LOVE AND ROCKETS) and earning rich plaudits. Since then DARWIN has regularly collaborated with David J and a host of other artists and friends in a solo adventure which has bred numerous keenly received and praised releases.
The new EP sees him link up again with friends in Brian Viglione (THE DRESDEN DOLLS/ VIOLENT FEMMES), Ash Reyes, and Julian Shah-Tayler. It is also an outing finding Darwin draw on a couple of inspirations in NEW ORDER and TOM PETTY, the release sharing a couple of covers alongside a new track and its equally potent remix.
Everything’s Gone Green opens with its title track, a cover of the New Order classic which embraces all the compelling and key essences of the original while bringing a fresh and inspiriting breath to the song. The electro tempting of the track is still there nagging at its heart as too the wiry web of guitar yet they bear a new lure in their tempting. At times it feels like it’s a stripped down essence that is refreshing the track yet equally there is a fuller almost claustrophobic quality to the song too, it lit by the vine of guitar and the harmonic tones of Reyes alongside Darwin.
Written by Darwin, Don’t Tell a Soul is a darkwave/post punk nurtured proposal under a fuzzy electronically atmospheric sky. Straightaway, it is tense in breath and sound, with the baritone guitar of Reyes and the crisp beats of Viglione adding further tenebrific tempting to the song. With the synth of Shah-Tayler continuing to weave its anxiety courting seduction as the dark and light voices of Darwin and Reyes align, the track simply beguiled as it haunted.
Next up, Tom Petty’s song, Grew Up Fast, is treated to Darwin’s own emotive intimacy and contemplation, its body echoing the personal angst of the original but wrapping it in ethereally woven and darker atmospheric disquiet. Once more Reyes’ backing beauty is a beacon in the shadows and again Darwin’s voice is similarly warming while merging with those crepuscular essences.
The EP is completed by the Julian Shah-Tayler mix of Don’t Tell a Soul, the equally acclaimed artist bringing out a more summery romanticism in the track without diminishing its emotive unease. There is a certain serenity to the track though, a calmer breeze parting the original’s fuzziness but one still embracing that inherent emotional tenebrosity.
With a great eighties electronic air to the release within its inspiriting fresh breath and enterprise, the Everything’s Gone Green EP is a treat all electronic and electro rock fans should run towards, and indeed a treat with its Name Your Own Price proposal.
Everything’s Gone Green EP is available digitally @ https://darwinmeiners.bandcamp.com/album/everythings-gone-green
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Pete RingMaster 31/01/2023
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