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Somewhere along the transition from rock and roll as the dominant force to its younger sibling, rock music, we lost something. something vital. If rock and roll was all about swing and groove, fun and frenzy, beat and boogie, what replaced it seemed to take itself all too seriously, and we found ourself presented with a wave of music that was big and monolithic, earnst and lacking awareness, relentless and one dimensional…usually played by guys in big shorts and sporting beards.
For me, We Are The Darts is the sound of rock and roll regaining the upper hand. Finally! And, like all genres worth their salt, it is the sound of that genre being updated as it goes, moving with the times and able to give us something that is both wonderfully fresh and slightly familiar.
Just spin their new single “Open Letter” if you want to see what I mean. It’s a fantastic rock and roll groove shot through with killer indie riffs, scuzzy rhythm guitars, and an engine room that knows how to keep the party firing on all sonic cylinders. I think I’m in love!!!
But one song does not an album make. “Things Are Looking Up” is sonically infectious and lyrically celebratory. “ We Are” is the sound of rock and roll embracing punkish energy in a demonstration of just how you balance muscle and melody, grit and groove. There is even room for slow-burning, reflective, folk-infused balladary courtesy of “Setting Sun,” which is better than I make it sound. Much better.
So, if you are tired of rock’s cliche, of indie’s cooler-than-thou aloofness, of pop’s failure to deliver the goods, Who Are You Again? has everything you need to restore your faith in the modern music scene.
We Are the Darts? They are the muthaflippin’ business!
