On their self-titled debut full-length CD, Los Angeles quartet
Darker My Love set up a series of distorted hard rock soundscapes. Guitarists
Tim Presley and Jared Everett play fuzzed-out, shimmering riffs over the pounding rhythm section of bassist Rob Barbato and drummer Andy Granelli, as
Presley and Barbato sing in echoed unison vocals. But the words and even the songs per se are less important than the overall sound, a powerful wall of noise. Sometimes, the pace slows, notably on "Catch," before revving up for the album's most forceful rocker, the closer "Summer Is Here." At whatever tempo, however, it's the sustained assault of the players that makes the strongest impression. ~ William Ruhlmann