Photo: Richard Gray
When Gigwise last talked to Darlia a few months ago, they were filling tiny basements with their raucous noise rock and bringing a bunch of teenagers with long hair and smudged eyeliner to the party. Tonight is no different, except the venue is bigger, and their usual band of young loyal followers are ready in wait, pressed up against the front of the stage and chanting the band’s name long before they set foot on stage.
In principle, their music is loud and chaotic in a good way, yet when playing live, at times they don’t quite match the raw energy of their studio recordings with singer Day’s voice not always strong enough to carry such an ambitious sound. Still, he’s a showman, blowing kisses to his adoring teenage fans and lurching and spinning spectacularly around the stage.
He finds enough energy during ‘Queen of Hearts’ to chuck his guitar across the stage and dive into the audience with his microphone, much to the delight of the front rows, who have been moshing, throwing drinks and climbing on each other’s shoulders from the beginning. Aside from ‘Queen of Hearts’, the poppy riffs of ‘Dear Diary’ do well to inspire the room and recent single ‘Stars Are Aligned’ with its grunge-esque murmurs and growling guitar riff is a stronger point, but then there’s songs such as the lyrically repetitive ‘Say Your Prayers’ which are a little uninspiring, slightly off key, and stop the Blackpool three-piece from reaching their full potential.
Their efforts are bold and the younger members of the crowd are swayed by Day’s showy manner, but for tonight at least, they're just slightly off the mark.
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