We review Darling West ‘s new album ‘We’ll Never Know Unless We Try’ out on February 7th on Jansen Records, ahead of their performance this week at the Americana Festival on the 28th and 29th January.
After sharing the stage with Norwegian duo, Darling West, a few years back, Lucinda Williams coined the term ‘cosmic folk’ for them. One listen to their forthcoming album We’ll Never Know Unless We Try and you’ll see why, and even that term appears insufficient to describe the breadth of the sonic diversity and influences on this record – containing strains of bluegrass, folk, country, tinges of pop, all whilst tightly bound to their Norwegian roots. This is an album truly for the artist and savant of real quality, clever music – from the instrumentation to the lyricism of the record and the careful thought behind its production and ordering of the album itself.
The record opens with the gorgeously Stevie Nicks-esque sounding ‘Hey There.’ A happy song, it is couched in wistful and atmospheric production that combined with the fragility that is a central part of Mari’s vocal, result in a cautiously optimistic rather than cheesily happy sounding track. From the outset, Chr’s production is astonishingly artistic and delicate – the range of instrumentation on the record itself is staggeringly detailed – there’s hints of mellotron, kalimba and even omnichord (yes I had to google that last…). This first track ebbs and flows, erring heavily toward a folkier sounding opening track.
‘Make It Last’ notches the sound up a bit, with a steadier driving beat helmed by Mari’s gorgeous vocal. It definitely has a ‘summery’ sound, lifting the album in that needed first few tracks. As too does sixties-infused track, ‘Can’t Help It,’ complete with a cosmic feeling guitar solo. The track deals with the universal theme of not being able to help feelings that are mirrored by the layered quality of the strings and instrumentation that build to a climax within the track.
‘River’ by contrast is more tender. ‘I want to tell you to leave all your troubles behind, / I want to find any reason to stay.’ Alongside ‘Try,’ these tracks create a contemplative moment in the record, where the vocals almost take a backseat to the continued flawless instrumentation.
Arguably the most commercial moments on the record actually come on this second half of the record, beginning with ‘True Friends’ (a co-write with Aaron Lee Tasjan) followed up by ‘Home.’ The latter possesses a rich sound that errs toward a surprisingly Irish folk sound, before launching into ‘The Calling’ that is far heavier on the crashing drum beats, causing a wave-like effect on the record.
Personally though, the greatest moments of the record fall nearer the end with tracks ‘Hold On’ and ‘When Mountains Fall.’ These tracks are more heavily loaded with harmonies, bringing the lyrics to the fore. As Mari and Tor Egil themselves said, ‘After two years of intense touring, and meeting tons of people, we are left with a feeling that there are many good forces at work in the world, even though the state of things can sometimes seem hopeless. Even though it wasn’t a planned theme in the songwriting process, we seem to have been inspired by this, and that hope and encouragement has become a common thread in our lyrical universe this time around.’ The last track in the record sums this up most astutely, ‘how can any one stand tall when mountains fall.’ The bluegrass-infused elements on this last track, complete with banjo and harmonica, are a stroke of genius and bring the track to life, progressing their sound yet rooting it in While I Was Asleep (2018).
This record is a beauty from start to finish, with acoustically beautiful production and sublime vocals. Instrumentation though is the real star of the record, and took a frontseat, driving the record from start to finish and tying the project together. This is definitively the album for the artist.
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Editor’s Picks
Hey There
River
When Mountains Fall
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