Location: Phoenix, Arizona
Country: USA
Genre: Garage punk
Full length: Boomerang
Format: CD, digital album, limited edition 12” blood orange vinyl
Label: Alternative Tentacles (USA)
Release date: April 26, 2024
With echoes of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Misfits, B-52s, Blondie, Sonic Youth, New York Dolls, and early 1960s rock and proto-punk, Arizona's The Darts have all the makings of the consummate garage-punk band, combining punk and post punk new wave with the early girl group vibe and the Doors' evocative jazz club ambiance.
Frontwoman Nicole Laurenne radiates sexuality with seductive and threatening undertones, as though she's conveying the message, "I'm alluring but don't mess with me." Like the rest of the band, she exudes a risk-taking attitude and doesn't take any shit, and "Boomerang" resonated with me on a primal level, akin to a suburbanite venturing into the city to make his first discovery of punk.
Not mainstream pop friendly in the slightest, this is closer in attitude to a dark circus or carnival, a seedy club in a less reputable part of the city, or an even darker church revival. Going by the cover art, the band is like a female incarnation of the Ramones, dressed provocatively in all black, complete with sunglasses and matching hats, presumably to blend with the night. With trippy and hellish visuals, the promotional videos they made for "Hang Around" and "Pour Another" presents a stage presence and aesthetic similar to Bettie Page in an alien world.
Since appearances can only convey so much, I have to add what really captured me was their songwriting and musicianship. The more I listened to this and their previous albums, the more I felt the vibes they evoked, and my infatuation with them continued to develop from that point. I call it an infatuation because I was becoming infatuated with Laurenne's vocals just as much as the band's musicianship. In time it felt like encountering a strange woman on the street hiding a switchblade in her pocket, which she would as soon use as looking at you.
The lyrics, express an unreserved attitude, evocative, brutally honest and compelling. "A gorgeous shade of black" and other lyrics are good examples of the frame of mind the band want you to enter while listening. The 60s vibe I mentioned, represented by occasional keyboards and guitars sometimes reminiscent of Robby Krieger, combines punk intensity with a casual style as threatening in its own way. This eclecticism makes The Darts a distinctive voice and exemplify punk’s capacity to supplement itself. A fan at Youtube said this band is going to be a hit; I don't doubt it. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Nicole Laurenne: Vocals, organ, songwriting
Meliza Jackson: Guitars
Christina Nunez: Bass, backing vocals
Mary Rose Gonzales: Drums, percussion
Track list:
1. Hang Around
2. Are You Down
3. Pour Another
4. Your Show
5. Liar
6. Slither
7. Photograph
8. Hell Yeah
9. Night
10. Welcome To My Doldrums
11. Dreaming Crazy
12. You Disapppoint Me
13. The Middle Of Nowhere
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