Walking the line of pop music and aggressive experimentation, Silver Lake-based indie rockers Summer Darling’s eponymous debut full-length album will be released July 6 on Origami Vinyl. Marking the inaugural vinyl release for Echo Park’s premier vinyl only record shop, the album will also be released digitally for free via Summer Darling's Bandcamp page. The band will parade their impressive new material throughout the month of July with a hometown residency each Monday night at Spaceland in Los Angeles. They will be joined by a slew of local acts including Eastern Conference Champions, Twilight Sleep, Kissing Cousins, Wait.Think.Fast., TS and the Past Haunts (ex-Piebald) and many others.
Several years in the making, this album heralds a new chapter for the foursome who has seen its share of struggle and tragedy over the last few years. Alcoholism, divorce, interstate moves, and a number of family deaths have all contributed to the creation of the album, and the result is a record that is both devastatingly personal and musically complex. Summer Darling revel in challenging the listener with a myriad of time signatures, interlacing guitar parts, and bombastic drumming all the while showcasing their pop sensibilities with hook laden vocal melodies.
This is clearly evident on standout track “Carving Letters,” which showcases husband and wife Ben Heywood (vocals/guitar) and Heather B. Heywood’s (vocals/bass) engaging melodic chemistry as their voices unite over a bed of nimble math rock-like guitars and a clattering beat. Album starter, “This Would Be The Time,” lays down what could be a blueprint for the record and as LA Weekly describes it “opens with Ben Heywood’s and Dan Rossiter’s majestic interlocking guitars, as the former intones in a hazy, haunted voice. Even as the guitars ratchet up the chaos, Heywood remains coolly somber underneath it all.”
The son of pastors in suburban California, Summer Darling was started after Ben graduated with a degree in English and Creative Writing, as an outlet to come to grips with his dissolving faith and darkening worldview. His wife, Heather, who also fronts the Richard Swift-produced band Kissing Cousins, was raised the daughter of Pentecostal ministers in Alabama and experienced a similar rebellion when she began playing in bands. Together the couple not only found solace in each other but along with guitarist Dan Rossiter and drummer Todd Spitzer have been experiencing musical catharsis.
Summer Darling has played extensively throughout the West Coast since 2003 and this year will be bringing their new album and impassioned live show to the national stage, following their residency next month. Currently, the band is working with a host of local artists and directors including Karla Carnewal, Joshua Locy, Souther Salazar, Alexis Martin Woodall, and Christopher Batty to create music videos for every song on the album.
Download the lead track off the album "This Would Be The Time"
Summer Darling Album Cover
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