What I Needed by Dark Dark Dark (EP)

Sinister folkies Dark Dark Dark return with a treat for Record Store Day – the moving, melancholic ‘What I Needed’ EP

Their music is built on the paradoxical tones of singer Nona Marie Invie, whose voice is brittle but powerful and ever so moving. On the title track, which is also the lead single of the three song collection, she uses this velvet howl to document her break-up with fellow band member Marshall LeCount.The poignant Love Lies is built on a piano line backed by rolling jazz drums, descending glockenspiel and later picked up by harmonies and buzzing guitar reverb. Invie apparently considers this to be her best-ever song and it would hard to disagree: both stately and understated, it holds the ability to stop time for its duration. I Collect Things pulls on many of the same strings: minor piano chords and shuffling, jazz drums. It’s a melancholic send-off for this brief trip.

Though only a teasing three songs long, What I Needed is replete with music that hangs effortlessly around moving, personal lyrical documents and a gem of a voice.

Verdict: Dark Dark Dark are as beautiful as their bark

Matt Nicholson

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