Review: Darsombra ‘Call The Doctor/Nightgarden’
Call The Doctor (Sun Side), yes, call the doctor indeed and ask him to join you for a cup of coffee and a slice of Darsombra! This song is indeed kinda infectious in its disguise of Kratfwerk gone metal psychedelia! A very nice track it is; it has that pulsating groove and ethereal haunting choir of vocals. Well, not really your standard singing but the sort of voices that bring the dots in the painted musical background.
On Call The Doctor the duo manage to combine their own psychedelia with the sounds that remind me very much of 1970s krautrock (remember all those great German geniuses?!) Well, whether they were geniuses or not, it doesn’t matter here, as Darsombra is not krautrock really. They play the kind of music that is maybe difficult to put in a box, since it has electronic grooves all over the psychedelic sounding musical forest. Occasionally you get the Van Halen(ish) or Randy Rhoads like stabs of guitar solos, which actually fit the song.
It’s a kinda audio view of landing on Mars where you might expect to hear a song like this as Darsombra sooth you in to your new strange horizon while you take in the Martian landscape. The song carries on throughout with an intense pulsating vibe and if you’re a nervous person, this might not be for you as it will be way too exciting. But even so, those melody lines from the 8:25 to 8:50 minute mark alone are worth listening to the (whole) song.
Darsombra carry a strong emphasis with synth-oriented melodies, even if the guitar is present and the vocals are mostly on the sideline…
Nightgarden (Moon Side) is kinda an aptly titled track, as it does conjure the pictures of a night garden… or garden in the night, whatever you prefer. Here Darsombra get bit more ‘sophisticated’ if you will, and atmospheric, an almost sad and oriental sounding melody replaces the pulse and groove of the Sun Side that is Call The Doctor. Darsombra have found something with their guitar sound, bringing to mind the great Earth from Seattle as guitars are interwoven in a similar style as on Pentastar: In The Style Of Demons. That’s not to say Darsombra are anything like Earth, they seem to have a completely different approach as Earth can sound quite pessimistic, almost fatalistic, where Darsombra conveys a more optimistic and almost hopeful view with their music.
Darsombra carry a strong emphasis with synth-oriented melodies, even if the guitar is present and the vocals are mostly on the sideline on both of tracks, but they’re all the better for it. Darsombra could have maybe existed in the 1980s when you hear these sounds, but it’s much better to have them here today in this time and age.
Label: Independent
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Scribed by: Antti Koponen
