Darkside, the title and project name of Nicolas Jaar’s new EP released under his own label, Clown And Sunset, alongside Brooklyn-based artist, guitarist and bassist Dave Harrington, is an intriguing project worth investing time (and a spare $5) into.
Jaar, a 21-year old New York based producer with a steadily rising fanbase since his breakthrough 2011 release of “Space Is Only Noise”, diverts from the fashion of ambient noise in his breakthrough album by experimenting with blues/electronica-inspired textures in this EP. Accompanied by Harrington’s performance of loping guitar strums and bass, the effect of the music in “Darkside” is a lethal, albeit strangely enjoyable, trip.
While the three tracks are simply titled “A1″, “A2″, and “A3″, they pack more intensity than those cryptic labels insinuate. “A1″ starts off by deftly building up the adrenaline with clanging synths, techno rhythms, steady beats and inserts of brief falsetto vocals, a touch reminiscent of post-dubstep master, James Blake. The twanging of Harrington’s strums complements this barely decipherable falsetto wonderfully, an effect that grips you right from the start. As the track progresses, it breaks down powerfully at moments. The breakdowns flow into crescendos so effortlessly that the final effect is nothing short of smolderingly sexy. It’s a sound that’s a little too cerebral to dance to, but marvelous to soak in at any given time of the day.
The tracks in this EP echo like the accompaniment to some sleek, surprisingly intelligent action movie of the un-campy kind – think cruising at night in a city filled with bright lights in a sleek Lamborghini while you are looking (and being) at your very prime in life, a young hero. Yet they also transcend into feelings as familiar as donning a pair of grubby Chuck Taylors in your twenties, ready to take on the roaring onset of life, which is to say that the emotions invoked by this EP are as amorphous and as exciting as you like.
Sensuously dark, atmospheric and emotional, “Darkside” is tight across all three of its tracks, all of which vary a little but weave mysterious sounds and beautiful beats together equally effectively. Put simply, “Darkside” is just one helluva long and mighty good song packaged in one chilling EP.
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