Reviews:: The Darling DeMaes A User’s Guide To Raising The Dead (Songs for Spring)

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Right now you are probably sick of reading tweets like, "SXSW is amazing", "I just saw the Ting Tings 3X!!!!", "standing beside Yeezy and Frodo" or "hungover but breakfast tacos are mmmmm." It's pretty obvious that the wheels that turn the music blog world grind to a halt for the few days that Texas hosts 90% of the music nerds and indie rocking bands. But fear not my friend, this little Canadian outfit soldiers on, and what a treat we have for you today.

Montreal’s The Darling DeMaes are one of Canada’s best kept secrets; somehow equally playful and sinister, the band grabs your attention and never lets go. They take their name from former Czech high diver turned porn star Lea De Mae and the tragic life she led is the perfect symbol to describe the band. The gorgeous woman seemed to have it all before spinal injuries crushed her Olympic high dive dreams, and after turning to adult films for cash a brain tumor derailed her successful porn career and eventually ended her life. The darkness that lived inside and seemed to follow Lea also dominates the songs The Darling Demaes create.

The gentle strums of acoustics and girl/boy harmonies that dominate A User’s Guide To Raising The Dead (Songs for Spring), fool you into thinking this Montreal outfit is a 60’s inspired folk act, but when you actually sit and digest the tracks it’s the energy and darkness that permeates from the songs that fuels the listen. Erik Virtanen’s pen drives the band, but the way the musicians play off each other and move perfectly alongside each emotion are what really adds the punch the nourish themes deserve. Virtanen writes songs for the broken, the forgotten and the tragic, but the band effortlessly crafts melodies for that inspire you with joyful bliss.

Some of the most ear pleasing melodies host the saddest thoughts, making each listen multi-layered and more powerful. Teenage Mother is full of shimmering oohs and Tasha’s beautiful voice, and you almost feel bad singing along so happily to the sadness. Girl Soliders somehow seems restrained and soaring at the same time… the subtleties are still there and compliment the tale of women fighting a man’s war, but the melody floats beautifully and benefits from Erik's lovely falsetto.

For me though, Stomach Ghost is the perfect song to describe why this band is so powerful and promising. The 50’s feel and summery vocals might make you swoon, but Erik Virtanen’s words are about the pain of a couple getting an abortion and the explosion of horns and drums help mirror the torment he and Tasha sing about, and while that may seem a bit bleak, it’s exactly that dichotomy that makes this song work.

I wish I had heard about this record last year when it surfaced in November. It would have skyrocketed up my Best-of List and honestly, I’ve listened to nothing else since I picked it up. I’m not sure if being the next big thing from Montreal is quickly becoming the Canadian equivalent of being the next hot band on Stereogum, but The Darling DeMaes are talented and unique enough to take over the Canadian indie scene. This record is a must have.

Labels: Best-of '08, Canada, Music