Choice music awards finalists

Dark Room Notes

We love you Dark Matter

Angela Macari O’Looney

From Alternative Electronic band Dark Room Notes, this album is cool, cool, cool!

Based in Dublin, this band has been compared to retro electro bands such as Joy Division/ New Order, Interpol. Definitely on my first listen to this album, my old disco days and those hypnotic beats came alive again. I’m not too surprised to discover, that among their influences are The Jam, Kraftwerk, O.M.D, Talking Heads.

Having formed in 2004 in Galway, DRN released their debut EP Dead start program in 2007. We love you Dark Matter is their debut album and was recorded with producer Ciaran Bradshaw in London. The band has had lots of success to date, having toured extensively and performed in major music festivals around Ireland.

Members are Ronan Gaughan – Vocals/Guitars/ Synth/ Programming, Ruairi Ferrie – Guitars/ Vocals/ Synth/ Programming, Arran (Genevieve) Murphy – Synth/ Vocals and Darragh Luke Shanahan – Drums/ Vocals.

This album is an interesting collection of songs, each with a message or story in the lyrics, some quite obscure. But what I particularly enjoy about it is its danceable quality. All choruses consist of repeated lyrics, so that once you hear the melody, you can sing them and they leave an imprint in your memory.

The opening number Each and Every one of us begins with an addictive intro on Synth. This continues throughout the song, with percussion choppy. Ronan’s vocals are seductive as he describes the infatuation side of love; she’s knocking on your door, she loves you even more. There are some philosophical lyrics in this, but it’s the simplistic melody in the chorus that makes it the special track it is; also the way the backing vocals sing a separate refrain alongside the last chorus.

Love like Nicotine

Fast moving and totally all go; this song builds up from quiet notes to an exciting intro with yet another hypnotic riff and a bright, upbeat sound with an explosive chorus which is sung by the entire band.
Arran’s light voice blends well with the powerfulness of Ronan’s punchy style. Guitar comes in and handclapping adds drama. Harmonies and lead vocals all very impressive here and I like the metaphor ‘Love like nicotine’. The sense of being in the power of addiction is reflected in the dramatic melody and rhythm.

The same City awaits me

The guitar in the chorus here is sweet, as is the synth riff. I like the melody line and the way that Ronan uses emphasis in his phrasing of the line This is all I know and I still can’t find another place to go another time. The alternating beat is key here!
Funky notes are played on synth towards the last part of this track, where a rhythmic line is repeated.

The intricate guitar throughout Fast Flashes/ Who is Isabella Moonlight?, is a lovely contrast to the surrounding electronica.

Lets Fight Fires

The passionate chorus in this number is amazing and quite an outburst after the cooler verse, which involves haunting electronic notation.
The stark instrumentation here reflects the sentiments in the lyrics :No we won’t back down and we mean it and if we come back down we’ll be useless. Our wounds taste of bitter sweet molasses and our wounds say lets light fires.
I also love the last verse with the line These four walls are closing in on me, but its o.k. cause there’s a hole in the roof and I can see the stars. What a brilliant piece of poetry!

This hot heat

This rhythmic piece begins with a monotonous riff, but soon it is joined by spectacular discords giving it life. It’s an unusual kind of love song, with mod cons used throughout, such as synth pop programming, excellent beats/percussion and in there is Ruairi’s energetic input of guitar, which for me is the highlight. With his solo you hear Arran’s light vocals and the adorable riff which continues till the end provides a perfect backdrop to everything.

Broken Nail

This has one of those duff duff duff beats, so reminiscent of the good old 80s. It’s definitely Ronan’s ability to almost spit the lyrics out, that puts the real expression into the dispirited lines of the chorus; I come back down yeah trough from peak, a dirty suit that can’t speak. I come back down yeah trough from peak, on hands and knees and battled feet, running till I stumble and fall, another breakdown, yeah I’m awaiting your call.
It has a great melody line. Hooks and melodies are definitely a fine art with this band. Bass notes and drums are fantastic as they thump away. Arran adds harmony in splashes and then for the middle eight, she performs a verse with Ronan coming in duet style. Her lines are so typically female; you broke my heart then you broke a nail, compared to his realistic approach to the love break-up in the song.

Elm is one of my favourite tracks because of the lovely chorus. I enjoy the laid back beat after the other faster ones and the catchy synth riffs, especially the short but sweet break midway through. Ronan’s vocal style is the main feature here however, with his almost percussive way of lyricising.

The bassy intro by Danny Conway in Shake my ceiling and the influx of bashing beats, space age notes on synth and its repetitive chorus, are what gives it charm for me. However I like the way it builds up, with lots of backing vocals and handclapping in the last couple of choruses. My favourite line in it is; You’re my high heel cryptic tic-tac sweet chick. This would be an excellent valentine verse or chat up line!


Treetops

As in each amazing creation by DRN, this last track involves sophisticated electronica and a defining beat. The chorus is sweet and very musical, Ronan’s vocals demonstrated to great advantage. Xylophone is performed by Ciaran Bradshaw. It’s a very haunting song, with a delightful if short guitar solo. Arran provides angelic backing vocals here.

Dark Room notes have had many descriptive reviews. I find that there aren’t enough words in the Thesaurus, to capture what is here on this masterpiece. Suffice to say, it’s like stepping out of Dr. who's time tunnel into the days of New Wave, Depeche Mode, Elvis Costello, Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner. But with this lead vocalist, we have a new creation which is a hybrid of 80s music, only with a stamp of its own. Ronan Gaughan has his own charm, a way of seducing you with each line of each carefully thought out track.