“We’re all pretenders, walking through dreams.”
The Darling Fire present a well of experience, featuring members of Shai Hulud, Further Seems Forever, The Rocking Horse Winner, and As Friends Rust. The shoegaze come post-hardcore unit return with their sophomore album Distortions, following on from their 2019 debut, Saints in Masquerade. Offering up gloomy and abrasive soundscapes that harken back to the early 00s scenes, akin to Deftones fused with Flyleaf, it presents a sound that is unique and underrepresented in our modern era. With this on offer, there is an allure to dive into it and explore its nuances, and Distortions more than delivers, putting The Darling Fire forward as one of America’s leading shoegaze acts.
There is a subtle brutality and relentless to Distortions, a record that at any moment feels like it could break down into something agonising. The lamenting guitars on “Clean Hands“, accompanied by Jolie Londholm‘s haunting vocals, conjure up something powerful, with moments teasing something heavier. Later track “Her” leans into this more, sporting a riff that could be plucked out of a metal or post-hardcore track yet fits succinctly within the complexion of The Darling Fire‘s intended sound. This can also be seen to an extent in “Heart Will Stop“, which sees drum fills and grooves offer up an aggression that is seldom present in shoegaze-leaning groups. It also offers some incontrovertibly catchy riffs in its later moments that are layered with gorgeous vocals.
Distortions also offers up softer moments tracks such as “Amber” that bleed melancholy. The ethereal tones steal the mind away to the nostalgic atmosphere that encompasses the record. It’s with this and “Perigree” that Distortions shows its vulnerable underbelly, an exploration of a bygone past that can’t be recovered. With that, and the almost haunting nature presented by nostalgia, the record can potentially become an obtuse listen. These moments, though, are deceptively fragile in their nature, giving Distortions some of its most beautiful moments.
In the final few tracks, The Darling Fire enters their realised potential, and show why they should be a staple for those who indulge in this genre; the bold tones of “Rituals“, combined with the spiralling vocals that lament “I wear the mask“, usher Distortions into its most vulnerable territory. With the closing two tracks being the longest on the record, 5:13 and 6:02 respectively, Distortions isn’t going to let listens go quietly. “Samsara” shines with a dominating guitar riff that Londholm simultaneously cuts through, delivering a particularly beautiful vocal performance in the track’s closing moments.
Every now and then bands save their best and defining material until the closing track — Loathe’s closer “I Let It In And I Took Everything” comes to mind as a clear example. With “Legless“, The Darling Fire provide their own crescendo. Offering up harsh backing vocals and ruminating riffs, combined with all the elements earlier tracks have showcased, Distortion‘s deeply escapist closer ensures it departure on a potent note.
What is performed by The Darling Fire is something that will be difficult to come by in the wider genre. Blending shoegaze and post-hardcore gives it an edge that escapes the trappings that either genre often falls into. With this record, The Darling Fire deserve to flourish among hardcore fans who dabble in this genre, but also as a genre unto themselves. The world and atmosphere that Distortions provides is one one worth getting lost in, and we can only hope that there is more to come from this unit in both studio and live settings.
8/10
Distortions is out this Friday, September 16th, via Iodine Recordings, and you can pre-order it here.