post brought to you by: dyson
Summer Darling have got the right mindset. Why be in a band when the odds of making it big are about the same as having a one night stand with Angelina Jolie? Because they love it, love the scene, and because they probably wouldn’t be able to stop making music if they tried.
When it came time to release their self titled album “Summer Darling”, they made it available as a free download. I probably wouldn’t have listened to them if this wasn’t the case. Sad, I know. But this has become more of the norm these days. People want to listen to free music. (and can)
But here I am weeks later after the album was released, waiting impatiently for my vinyl copy to arrive. And yes, I shelled out $15 for it. ($19 with shipping)
My point is that I went from never hearing of this band to buying their record and making sure I will go see a show if they’re ever out on the east coast. And, if they’ve released another album between now and then, I’ll most likely buy that one as well. So instead of charging $10 for a digital download I probably wouldn’t have paid, I happily spent the money to get the physical copy and grew attached to the group.
This model can’t work for everyone:
The way Summer Darling went about releasing their debut roped me in hook line and sinker. Didn’t hurt that the album kicks ass as well.
Released July 6th through Origami Vinyl and backing it up with a month long residency at Spaceland, “Summer Darling” shows you can do a lot with 4 people and some passionately written songs.
The album’s pretty raw and aggressive but not in a punk sort of way. The mood is an interesting mix that I can’t quite settle on what’s getting portrayed and felt lyrically. There is undeniable passion there but doesn’t feel or sound mournful and depressing while it might very well be.
Ben Heywood (vox, gtr) has an incredible ability for songwriting and it shows. It’s a powerful record but definitely pushes the musical envelope with it’s arrangements. And these are arrangements that were focused on being able to recreate live so it meant pushing the limits of their instruments into something interesting yet tangible.
The best example is the closing track on “Summer Darling”. To create a “string” sound meant getting a little creative in the studio. While it doesn’t sound like it, it’s just an electric guitar with the amp is cranked up to 11 and the tuning pegs touching it. Not exactly what you would imagine when hearing it and I imagine it wasn’t the easiest thing to accomplish.
If this is Summer Darling’s debut release, I can only imagine what is to come next. It would be an injustice not to download the album for free and give it a listen. And if you’re a vinyl nut like myself, hold tight and I’ll let you know how it sounds when it comes. I’m definitely counting the days until it arrives.
I am one man who writes (pretty poorly) about music because I love it. I study, play, produce, engineer, analyze, and obsess about music. Enjoy all the topics I can muster up to write about.
This review reminded of Greg Kot’s book “Ripped” and how internet changed the way the music business worked. Really good read if you haven’t.
I downloaded Summer Darling’s self titled album a few weeks ago and its been growing on me. I didn’t have much of an opinion on it at first but now I’m starting to like it.