Dark Dark Dark – Wild Go (2010)
Minneapolis based chamber-folk sextet Dark Dark Dark revel in the wonder that is always around us. On their sophomore album Wild Go, which arrives Oct. 5, 2010 via Supply and Demand Music, the band has created a stirring reminder to seek out that magic. Their dramatic sound sets Nona Marie Invie’s soaring, haunting voice against age-old instrumentation, a marriage that casts a lush “eight-millimeter” cinematic living portrait.
The 10-song collection is a marked evolution for the group, which began in 2006 as a collaboration between multi-instrumentalists and singers Nona Marie Invie and Marshall LaCount. These two inspired songwriters bring together disparate influences – including minimalism, New Orleans jazz, Americana, Eastern European folk, and pop – creating something altogether singular with diversity as their greatest strength. They use contrast – in texture, tone, and imagery – to build their own deeply experienced world into the songs. For example, on the single “Daydreaming,” Invie’s warm voice and piano are supported by spare and clean drums, a guitar with lush reverb, and cascades of dirty and distorted banjo, while an accordion wanders its way through harmonies.
For Wild Go, the group expanded the sound they captured on their 2008 debut, The Snow Magic, with more nuanced arrangements and more personal content. They’ve continued with the line-up they solidified on their critically acclaimed Bright Bright Bright EP (March 2010) — Invie and LaCount share songwriting duties while the band members piece together their own contributions and visions. They use a unique variety of instruments that compliment the spaces they choose to work in, including a renovated church and old theater, and enter the studio with a clear vision and complete idea of each member’s parts and arrangements – it’s an approach that facilitates their dynamic and expressive performances, capturing the layers and textures that bring Dark Dark Dark’s great songwriting and orchestrations to life
