Friday 15 March 2013

REVIEW: A Kite, A Key and A Storm - The Darien Venture

Almost 2 years since the release of the 'Indications' EP, The Darien Venture are back and stronger than before.

'A Kite, A Key and A Storm' is a 7-track player which showcases the catchy hooks and lyrical talent that this band have to offer. It's an EP from a maturing band and contains some of their best work to date.

Opener 'Bones' is anthemic, with the infectious guitars that The Darien Venture are known for as well as the masterful balancing of the vocal melodies from Dave Martin, Kyle Shields and Liam Rutherford.

'Ho! Criminal Face' is one more to add to the pile of tracks The Darien Venture have produced with massively catchy hooks and big guitars.

The EP strongest from the middle onwards where we get the best master and mix of the hit single '1.21 Gigawatts', with the perfect balance of the guitars and catchy lyrics. This is song is math-rock at its best and the mix on 'A Kite, A Key and A Storm' is the best that it has sounded.

'Catapult' is a song for anyone in their 20s, it builds from an opening showcasing Dave Martin's strong vocal and lyrics to a big chorus where the vocal melodies of his bandmates are once again utilised and Jonny Beveridge's drumming holds the entire track together.

'Thinks/Thoks' is another one full of catchy hooks and has some more standout drumming from Beveridge.

'Tonight Matthew' is the lyrically strong track on the EP and its coupled with infectious guitars and a perfect marrying of vocals. The final third of the song is an epic build bringing together everything that makes this band great - the strong bassline, big guitars and drums with the catchy lyrical hooks.

'Clock' is the darkest Darien Venture track to date and proves the lyrical talent of this band better than anything else. The big guitars take a backdrop which allows the vocals and lyrics to shine through stronger than on any other track on the EP, and in the band's previous work.

The Darien Venture have grown over the recent years but they are still a band who can provide catchy math-rock songs, they've always had the lyrical talent but it is on show more on 'A Kite, A Key and A Storm' than previous efforts. I believe this band are not only one of Glasgow and Scotland's best but one of the best bands in Britain right now and they deserve to be much bigger than they are.

'A Kite, A Key and A Storm' was released March 9th via Overlook Records and can be purchased via Bandcamp.

No comments:

Post a Comment