- Bryon Harris
Darker Still - 'Darker Still'
Canada’s emerging rock band, Darker Still, have released their self-titled, six song EP to rave reviews, rising recognition and regular radio rotation. With a fan-base that just keeps growing, Darker Still enjoys sitting at the top of the Canadian rock charts on Reverbnation; this is no easy task considering Reverbnation hosts millions of artists. Their single "I Had It All" has been #1 on the Global Rock Charts on NumberOnemusic for 19 straight weeks and #1 All Genres for 16 straight weeks. Darker Still is on radio in the U.S., Australia, UK, Ireland, Spain, and Canada and has received over 170,000 digital song plays this year. On the top ten of the National Digital Radio Track Charts, this EP is so solid that you can't poke a hole in it; every song fully delivers on every level.
The EP opens with “Never Too Late” which kicks-off the album with a killer bass line that hints at the melody joined by hard hitting drums and guitar. As the three band members come into their full presentation, the foundation for great rock n’ roll is sealed. Lead singer, Tony has a clear and simple tone that future front men will want to emulate, “Too late to try to change me. It’s too late to just say no. Someday you’ll try to find me, now you’re leaving with the morning sun." A melodic guitar solo flavors the song. “Never Too Late” is the kind of song that you will play full blast while driving your car on life’s highway.
Next up is “Could There Be.” The chorus of the song is fantastic. “Could there be something more? Could there be a reason to stay?” Kudos to the emotive guitar solo that follows. With excellent song-writing composition, “Could There Be” is a highly memorable and moving song with an intense energy that captivates from beginning to end. The entire band has a rhythmic and melodic unity, showing how tight they are as musicians and band-mates.
“Could There Be” is followed by that head-grinding song, “Had It All.” Taking it up a notch, lead singer Tony gives his all in this song with soaring vocals backed by incredible musicianship by the band. The song has plenty of rock attitude to share. “If you want tomorrow, then you can take it today.” Like every impressive rock band, Darker Still proves that they can nail a ballad with their song “Sunlight Smile.” The song opens with some nice finger-picking guitar and is laced with elements of orchestration. Some violin string motifs create just the right melancholy mood. “Sunlight Smile” tells the story of a love that melts a frozen heart and this song certainly melts the soul. The last song is “Suicide Journey.” The journey of this song is not a slow build, it’s a blast of rock from the first note to the last that will have you jumping off the floor. “I’m going to take you on a hell of a ride...” and do they ever. “Hold on to something tight, soon I’ll be swinging from the living room light.” Some vocal distortion added to the mix is very effective. Like all the songs on the EP, the engineering, mix, and production are stellar. At the end of "Suicide Journey," the instrumentation comes to a halt and the band breaks into an awesome harmonic choral anthem that burns to last note. It’s one of the best song endings I’ve heard in a very long time.
Darker Still proves that there's a place for rock on the top of the charts. With all these genres out there like indie-rock, pop-rock, alt-rock and folk-rock, it's incredibly refreshing to just get dam great rock n' roll. For more information on Darker Still, check them out on Reverbnation.