The Darling Fire - Dark Celebration
The spirit of The Rocking Horse Winner lives on
For those who knew early 2000s indie rock band The Rocking Horse Winner, will know that they were one of the great underrated bands of that era. While bigger names took the emo infused indie spotlight, The Rocking Horse Winner quietly perfected their brand of mostly mid-tempo indie powered by distorted guitars and Jolie Lindholm's captivating voice. All these years later and songs like "Miss You" and "When Songbirds Sing" hold up. Fast forward and we have Lindholm's latest musical offering, The Darling Fire, a group comprised of Lindholm and luminaries of noted bands of that time- Further Seems Forever, Shai Hulud(!), as well as fellow members of The Rocking Horse Winner.
No surprise perhaps, that what grabs you immediately when listening to Dark Celebration is Lindholm's voice once again. It's still got that aura, that mystique that is both as beautiful as a songbird but laced with a darker, more ominous note. From the opening "For the Loveless" to the slower, more gradual "Omaha", her voice soars above the music without it becoming operatic. Musically, what's most grabbing about The Darling Fire, is their ability to craft big sounding songs that takes cues from Further Seems Forever's Jon Bunch era. Perhaps the album that comes closest to exemplifying Dark Celebration's resonance is FSF's terrific 2004 record Hide Nothing. If you're familiar with Hide Nothing then you'll get the tone of Dark Celebration.
Sonically, Dark Celebration is a dense record; the guitars sound thick and fuzzed out. And they take a more gradual approach to finding melodies- all resulting in this very raw, Steve Albini-like produced record (Editor's note: I had this written down before I found out the record was actually produced by J. Robbins- hence the sound). It's all coupled nicely with the pounding percussion work best exemplified in the aforementioned "Omaha" and the closing "In Twilight". The slowness to the record is more a sign of patience than anything else; while music today seems to be eager to find the hook, the apex- The Darling Fire takes a more composed approach. Those with short attention spans, especially when it comes to music, should probably search elsewhere. But for those who find beauty in patience, will find a genuinely rewarding listen. The patience results in a record that yearns for repeated listens because you will discover new layers, new textures to their songs with each listen. The album hits hard when it rocks, but is delicate when it needs to be; see "Saints in Masquerade", "The Constant", and the beautiful "Silver Spider".
It's fantastic to hear that the spirit of The Rocking Horse Winner lives on. The Darling Fire is a new band yes, but to hear that this sound that made such a big play for ears in the 2000s has found a resurgence is fantastic. Whether you were a fan of Mineral, The Rocking Horse Winner, or those guitar-heavy bands like Jawbox, The Darling Fire is a contemporary exploration of a sound that thankfully, has transcended through the decades. And it still sounds great.
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