The Darcys: Melancholic 21st Century Troubadours
The Darcys – Warring
By Alina Lehtinen
You can’t help but think of the timeless and empowering book Pride and Prejudice when you first hear about The Darcys – every Jane Austen fan’s dream man in plural.
The Canadian band’s four members do resemble hipster versions of the classic 18th century gentleman, but the music is far from stuck in the past. The Darcy’s latest album Warring, released in September 2013, is full of mystical melancholia with emotional journeys through longing, love and addiction.
The band was formed in 2011 and has released an album per year since its formation. Just like a Jane Austen novel, The Darcys are not without drama. The lead singer Kirby Best quit the band before the release of their self-titled debut album The Darcys. The band continued as quartet, re-recording the songs for the album and was signed by Canada’s largest indie label Arts & Crafts.
As the love story of Austen’s Elisabeth and Darcy, who end up happily married, The Darcys, also, had a happy ending. The band stuck together connected by their love of music. This perfect teamwork can be heard in the songs on Warring. The soft tunes of the piano, guitar and drums are the perfect match to the unique high-pitched crooning of Jason Couse.
The first track on the album “Close to me” starts with a one-minute instrumental intro. Then Couse begins in an intense talk-like manner: “I am slipping, slipping. Everything so quickly, quickly. I loose control. Start to close my eyes. And I can’t get back. My body calm as the cold washed over me.”
The song has a funky, melodic drift that hits you like a wave three minutes into the song. The third track “Horses fell” takes the listener on an roller coaster ride through the dramatic life of a Vegas lounge singer, who suffers from addiction and end up losing everything. Track five starts with a beautiful piano drift that melts your heart. “Pretty girls” (track 7) comes in with a loud beating drum. It’s one of the fastest songs in the album and gives a refreshing break from the calm melodies.
The only criticism of the album is the lack of variation in the songs. Most of them are melancholic and follow somewhat similar patterns of starting off calmly and building up towards the end.
Yet, over all, the album manages to charm its way into my heart just like Jane Austen’s Mr. Darcy did to Elizabeth. The dramatic undertones of the album together with the gloomy lyrics blends an emotional musical cocktail.
Maybe Darcy would have captured the heart of Elizabeth a little sooner if he had been a troubadour like The Darcys.
(The Darcys perform Friday, April 4 at Barboza with No and Rueben in the Dark. Tickets and more information at http://thebarboza.com/event/no-reuben-the-dark-the-darcys/.)