Matador レコード& CD

Review: Darkside - the duo of visionary producer Nicolas Jaar and guitarist Dave Harrington - have brought their touring drummer Tlacael Esparza into the recording process for this third album of theirs and he's now a full-time member. The songs for this album, which were recorded in Los Angeles, the south of France and Paris, came out of a series of improvisational jam sessions and they transport you into their swaggering and inventive universe where anything goes. The sheer joy of 'S.N.C' brings to mind Jaco Pastorius in terms of taking the bass guitar to new heights and the funk keyboard is a throwback to the 80s Casio era. 'Graucha Max' is a lot darker and twisted, delving into psychedelic rock with distorted lines, but then splicing it with sub-heavy bass that would ignite any club dancefloor. Darkside are right up there with the best the Los Angeles scene has to offer right now.