Darlia live at the Water Rats April 2014
Darlia have been dubbed as one of the best bands to emerge in 2014. They are the saviour of British grunge with a raucous, poweful sound reminiscent of Nirvana but with a touch a emotion and soul, mainly supplied the melodic vocals of frontman Nathan Day. Darlia are the perfect balance between power and sophistication. The two EP's they have released (Knock Knock and Candyman) are a glimpse in to what we can expect from the Manchester based three piece.
Darlia went on a tour of the UK in early 2014, climaxing in London's infamous Water Rats. The venue has played host to the likes of Oasis back in the 90's the heritage bodes well for Darlia!
There were two support bands for the gig too, they were Dumb and Sun Machine, both of which were highly enjoyable. Dumb are an indie four piece from Birmingham who's "Supersonic Love Toy" was a memorable part of the set, the song is memorable because of the vocal hook, during the chorus, and also there was something about the vocals that was extremely unique, most indie bands tend to be similar, but the vocal style set Dumb apart from other up and coming indie bands.
Unfortunately I only managed to catch Sun Machine's last song of their set because I was out talking to the other band, but I did listen to them again and I would say that their music is very Tame Impala-esque. Quite psychedelic and possibly difficult to digest but still great sound.
Then Darlia take to the stage greeted by raucous cheers, they begin their 45 minute set with the brilliant Blood Money which is part of their Candyman EP and in flash filled with Nirvana and Pixies snippets the song ends and the whole set comes and goes as quick as anything. The stand out tracks would be Animal Kingdom, Candyman, Napalm and Queen of Hearts, all of which combine aspects of grunge mixed with a British kick inspired by such bands as Oasis with the snarl of Liam Gallagher encapsulated by Darlia frontman Nathan. The set list ends with the three songs that are part of the superb Knock Knock EP (see review in other blog post) all of which are pure grunge which send the audience into a frenzy, especially the thunderous breakdown during Choke on Bones, which is followed by Napalm and finally the ferocious set ends with Queen of Hearts which is a very fitting way to end a fantastic, blaring set. Darlia are one of the bands of the year, they have recently played at Glastonbury and a series of summer dates have been confirmed as well as a tour in September this year, I highly recommend that people go and see them! Also, the bands are very easy going, you can have a decent conversation with them too, which makes the whole experience even more worthwhile!
Post a Comment