Whether rock is dead or risen from the grave remains under heavy discussion, but it really doesn't matter when it comes to Darlia - a full-throttle trio who put the rock back into Blackpool. Check our the premiere of their new video for 'Stars Are Aligned' and our interview with the band below.
The video revolves around what saw Darlia own the summer: their incredible live presence. The band do what they do best and play the shit out the huge track, as circus choreography and ballet theatrics fittingly accompany the ecstatic release that comes with the sky-reaching, stadium ready chorus.
See the Gigwise premiere of 'Stars Are Aligned' below
'Stars Are Aligned' is released on 27 October. Meanwhile, the band will also be supporting Gerard Way on his upcoming UK tour. Full dates are below. For tickets and more information, visit here.
05 - MANCHESTER Ritz
06 - OXFORD Academy
07 - GLASGOW ABC
09 - CARDIFF Y Plas
10 - LONDON Koko
Check out our interview with the band below.
It was only up until recently that the charts were completely saturated with a plethora of dance-pop hybrids, but some say 2014 marks the return of rock to the public mainstream. Spearheaded by bands such as Drenge, Wolf Alice, Royal Blood, Slaves and, of course, Darlia themselves, there’s no doubt a backlash of sorts is happening.
“It depends on what people want. If people suddenly want ten-pieces who all play saxophones, they’ll just be more of them because that’s what people want. It’s not about what people are doing, it’s about what people want,” says Darlia’s frontman Nathan Day, talking about this supposed rock revival, before the final night of their biggest headline tour to date. And what people seem to want is the filthy guitar riffs, loud dynamics and galvanising sounds that the trio (Nathan, along with bassist Dave Williams and drummer Jack Bentham) have become known for.
The band only started touring in the past year following the release of their first EP ‘Knock Knock’ in October 2013. What followed included an Australian tour alongside New York’s Skaters, a slot supporting The Libertines - which they describe as “more of an honour than an experience” – as well as the climax of filling out Reading & Leed’s Festival Republic tent this summer. Their scuzzy, unashamedly loud sound, added into the fact that with his blonde mop of hair and smudged black eyeliner frontman Nathan Day bears a slight resemblance to Kurt Cobain, has meant the band has received press buzz comparing them to the 90’s most famous grunge band. A compliment? Darlia aren’t so sure.
“I get that. I do. I’ve got blonde hair. I’m in a three piece and I sing. That’s the way it is,” Nathan admits, shrugging. “There’s people who just think we sound like Nirvana and it really, really irritates me because that’s just not what we want…I really respect Kurt Cobain as a musician. But I also respect Noel Gallagher and I respect Pete Doherty and I respect Kate Bush.”
Darlia live at Bright Summer Time. Photo: Gigwise/Ray Hill
Despite a wealth of influences, undoubtedly elements of Nirvana’s sound can be heard on the heavy riffs and raspy vocals of earlier songs such as ‘Queen of Hearts’ and ‘Choke on Bones’, but most recent single ‘Dear Diary’ showed a more pop-influenced direction. “That was on purpose though. It’s not even a good or bad trait to be ‘radio-friendly’, it just happens to be palatable,” Nathan says. And with the likes of Zane Lowe and Fearne Cotton promoting their singles as ‘Hottest Record in the World’ and ‘Track of the Day’ respectively, it’s no surprise they’ve had such a successful year.
Later, on the final night of biggest headline tour to date at London’s Oslo Bar, the crowd are relentless from beginning to end, a group of visibly wasted kids at the front bouncing off the walls and each other, fuelled by sweaty teenage angst. A group of younger attendees are intent on giving security a nightmare by continuously trying to climb onstage. Only when one scrawny, topless teenager achieves this, punches the air triumphantly and dives back into the crowd, does Nathan Day crack a smile. Despite the stony-faced and self-assured exterior, offstage he is – as are the rest of the band – open, humble and easy to talk to.
Before Darlia, Nathan, Dave and Jack worked as cleaners – a job they were fired from.
“Since we got fired from cleaning, which was purely coincidentally the time that the record deal money hit us, literally there has never been a break,” Nathan says. Jack agrees: “for some people a break is a blessing, but us, we don’t like not doing anything. A break would be detrimental.”
Even on days off, they find themselves bored. On one of their last days off, Jack got a spontaneous tattoo. Nathan on the other hand went to Alton Towers to try and rid himself of his fear of heights before his first ever flight to Australia to tour. “I was on Oblivion, going up, and my phone is going mad and my manager is like ‘you’ve got interviews, you’ve got interviews’, and I was literally like ‘I’m on Oblivion!’” And with their schedule becoming even busier and the press taking even more interest, with that comes its own issues.
Darlia at The Great Escape. Photo: Gigwise/Richard Gray
Clash recently reported that Nathan was “banned by his parents [as a child] from even listening to music”, a statement which Darlia’s frontman says “just got out of hand. I always get into a lot of trouble every time that’s announced”.
“It wasn’t a case of my mum and dad didn’t let me [listen to music],” he says. He explains that you can’t believe everything you read: “[A magazine] said that I live with my Uncle Derek…I don’t know anyone called Derek!”
The next step is the debut album, due out “very early next year”. It’s a release that’s comes with a new set of pressures. “It’s very sentimental. It’s like every single movement on the guitar, every single vocal, no matter what happens, that is the debut forever,” Nathan tells us, a little nervously. If the past year is anything to go by, they shouldn’t be too nervous at all.
Below: Exclusive photos of Darlia rocking The Great Escape 2014
