Those Darlins – Those Darlins (self titled debut) Oh Wow Dang Records

Atlanta, GA –  Playing live since 2006, Those Darlins are all about big leather coats with fur collars (when it’s cold), hot pants (when it’s hot), cowboy boots, and making you get up and move! The self-titled debut release by the foursome from Murfreesboro, TN, is a full-tilt, no-holds-barred, never-look-back joyride.

While their boots are firmly planted in bluegrass and Appalachian roots music, they jump around from roadhouse rock ‘n roll to honky-tonk country, kicking up their heels with raucous rockabilly and punk. If you can sit still while listening to the 12 tracks on this sweet and gritty album (yes, they offer CD and vinyl) then you’re either comatose or dead.

Everything revs up with “Red Light Love”, a classic grab-you-by-the-collar-and-

kiss-the-daylights-outta-you love song with more car metaphors than you can slam a Galaxy 500’s door at. Lead singer Jessi Darlin snarls enticingly that her lover, “…makes my heart stop. Drives me so crazy, I can’t even walk.”Standouts on this infinitely catchy debut include “Wild One”, Mama’s Heart”, “The Whole Damn Thing”, and “DUI or DIE” which begins with police radio scanner effects leading into a classic Jan and Dean surf-rock beat. The few heart-felt acoustic numbers include classic Carter Family and Uncle Dave Macon covers (“Who’s That Knockin’ At My Window” among them) and are lovingly reproduced, but with the Darlins’ own twists: animal sounds; ghostly Beatles-esque backwards guitars; haunting, faraway shouts and snatches of plaintive blues harp.

With a lesser band, some of these original songs might come off as self-consciously tongue-in-cheek, but the three Darlins (Jessi: lead guitar/vocals; Nikki: baritone ukulele/vocals; Kelley: bass/vocals) and drummer Linwood Regensberg offer up a sound that is completely genuine. For the most part they’ve lived these songs of rural deprivation and hickdom, and now they love what they’re doing — and they’re damn good at it.

Those Darlins are currently on an extensive U.S. tour. Check their website for dates: thosedarlins.com

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4 Responses

  1. i just saw them live and i was blown away, the album is good but they really trully shine live.

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