We Love You Dark Matter
Electro-rock quartet produce healthy ten-song debut.
Celina Murphy, 16 Apr 2009
When this plucky Irish foursome jumped the pond to London last summer for a fortnight’s marathon recording session, they contrived to return with one track for every day. Ten of them make up We Love You Dark Matter, a healthy synth-filled debut, influenced by the likes of Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk.
Songs we heard and loved on the band’s EP Dead Start Program have been re-sculpted by producer Ciaran Bradshaw into a slicker and more versatile sound. The downright funky ‘This Hot Heat’ is pure ‘80s throwback, while tunes like ‘Treetops’ expose flashes of stadium trance. Ronan Gaughan’s vocals ring juvenile in the best possible way; ripe, unsteady and at times even a little bit Irish-sounding (“I drink not to think, drink every last sup”). With intricately formed songs that just plain shouldn’t be this catchy, these guys have found an exhilarating groove and to top it all off, they’re not afraid to exploit a good pop hook (‘Let’s Light Fires’ is a fine example).
Some of the murkier melodies on We Love You Dark Matter are less appealing, but these are more than made up for with moments of glorious, agitated pop (the layered vocals on opener ‘Each And Every One Of Us’ are nothing short of genius). Whether it was recorded in 14 days or 40, Dark Room Notes have delivered an album that is clever and worthwhile, even if it has dangerously depleted the world’s natural synthesizer resources.
Key Track: ‘Each And Every One Of Us’
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