darling west

​Darling West (from the album We’ll Never Know Unless We Try available on Jansen Records) (by Bryant Liggett)
Norway’s Darling West made a time travel record. If you’re lucky enough to be of an age that remembers listening to the static from the crackling AM radio in an American-made, mid-1960’s gas guzzler (like a Ford Fairlane 500, for instance) then you likely remember the sweet static. The songs of the AM dial were Gold, the music polish and perfection with a smooth voice crooning Pop music, a sometimes genre-less product with broad influences; bouncy and fun, sad and slow, every one of the bunch of tunes were flat out catchy.
We’ll Never Know Unless We Try, the recent release from Darling West, is a trip in that time machine from the back-seat of a Ford Fairlane 500. “Hey There” comes on like a late-night hush, the lyrical sound of ‘I hear a humming, the sweetest humming in my ear’ soft and soothing. “Make It Last” follows quickly along with “Cant’ Help It,” a mid-tempo groove with punches of bright, jammy guitar that live comfortably right next to the harmonies. “True Friends”, with its harmonica and washboard, have a front-porch, jug band feel while “The Calling” is ambient and subtle, anchored by a mysterious chant. The album closer, “When Mountains Fall”, with carefully plucked banjo and sad fiddle, is a Norwegian nod to Appalachia. ‘He lost his youngest he told me through his tears. We were already deep into a jug of wine and suddenly I stopped feeling fine’ is timeless lyrical territory. While far from the bright Indie Folk of the beginnings of We Never Know Unless We Try, it is an important cut to document the Darling West’s diverse musical output.  (by Bryant Liggett)
 
Listen and buy the music of Darling West from AMAZON
 
Visit the Darling West website for more information
 

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