DARKSIDE – Nothing
On the third record, DARKSIDE are happy to remain unfixed, bumping between fun and familiar grooves with an element of chaos
DARKSIDE has never been a fixed entity. Electronic producer Nicolas Jaar and guitarist Dave Harrington saw the project as the meeting point of their disparate styles, and a way to push themselves with improvising. Those early jams were fluid – sometimes bluesy and conventional, and at others noisy and cryptic. The live versions of songs skirt off in odd directions before returning to centre, if they return at all.
In that spirit, Nothing, just the third record from DARKSIDE in 12 years, is happy to remain unfixed. The group welcome percussionist Tlacael Esparza as a full-time member, and he’s a new voice to keep their jams off-kilter. The record is anchored by fun and familiar grooves, but there’s a chaotic element always present. S.N.C bounces between the saturated soul sample chopping of Jaar’s Against All Logic project, Beatles-y piano vamps and low-key balladry. Graucha Max is a taut reimagining of 60s blues rock pushed to its nuttiest, while American References is built from scraps of guitar and Latin percussion.
DARKSIDE are nerdy audiophiles at heart. Nothing remains a heady listen, but there’s an embodied immediacy that’ll make it easy to return to when the sun hits our skin again.
Listen to: S.N.C, American References