Darkside – Nothing (Matador) – Nothing is the third album from Darkside, “nine transmissions of negative space, telepathic seance, and spectral improvisation” so it says here, it is rather deliciously different, compelling, rather unpredictably good it is also the first Darkside album recorded as a trio, it is rather different, an electro-acoustic symphony is how the label have it, I think we can comfortably go with that. And it is a comfortable album, it fit well, you don’t need to break it in, there it is. straight way, welcoming, comfortable… 

“It fittingly started from scratch. On their first two reinventions, Nicolás Jaar and Dave Harrington entered the studio with a clutch of scattered ideas and loose melodic fragments to mould into what became the revered Psychic (2013) and Spiral (2021). But Nothing reflected a search for form borne out of spontaneous elliptical jams, acoustic riffing, and digital levitations. And in a fundamental shift from their first dozen years as a band, Jaar and Harrington recruited their long-time friend and collaborator, the drummer and instrument designer Tlacael Esparza, to become a full-time member”. 

And so here they are, twelve years in, a third album and their first as three piece, an album that, as comfortable and easy as it is, doesn’t obviously fit anywhere. “Nine transmissions of negative space, telepathic seance, and spectral improvisation” and that kinds of tells you everything and at the same time tells you absolutely nothing. There’s some delicious funk on here, it isn’t a funk album though, there are hints of jazz, of prog, of soul but it really is none of those things, Grancha Max is just brilliant, I think we said that already a couple of weeks back?

It is a magnetic album, it does go beyond convention, it is almost extraterrestrial, certainly from somewhere else, other static, uncanny and most of the time beautiful. Possibly unique and just so easy, so comfortable, and that gear-change two and a minutes in to Are You Tired? is just so right before they re-tune to a different planet or a different strand of starlight. Elsewhere there’s a bit of bass-heavy dub jousting in a good natured way with electro-clash vocals, bits of sunshine that are too orangey for crows and softly spoken synthesisers and now a light pecking as if the crows are made of wood and their movements are mechanical and the long second is over and we’re back with Grancha Max again – this album has been running on repeat for most of the day while paint is thrown and brushes are juggled, we haven’t had enough yet.

“For Jaar, this concept of nothing became applicable to other aspects of life. “Nothing” is the reflexive answer when asked about what’s wrong, when there’s too much to even begin to express. In this framework, “nothing” means its mirror opposite. Or “nothing” can be a damning illustration of the lack of change in the world. The maddening inaction on climate change, the political hypocrisy, and the recurring cycles of violence against the people of Palestine, the Sudan, and elsewhere”. And they made it before vice president Trump and his puppet master grabbed the power!

Some more background (with thanks to Jeff Weiss) – “Shortly after shattering the 7-foot double-sided mirror that accompanied them on their 2014 tour, Darkside announced what would become a six-year hiatus. In the interim, Jaar released a string of acclaimed solo albums under his own name and his dance-oriented Against All Logic alias. The Chilean artist left his adopted home base of New York for a more nomadic existence overseas. He scored film soundtracks, produced for FKA Twigs, and taught sound-editing and listening workshops throughout the Middle East, Europe, and Latin America.
 
Indicative of his roots in the New York avant-jazz scene, Harrington pursued a similarly left-hand path. An intuitive player somewhere between John McLaughlin and Jerry Garcia, the guitarist and multi-instrumentalist moved to the West Coast and immediately became a linchpin of the L.A underground. He’s become one of the most prolific and imaginative experimentalists of his generation, leading his own group, playing in various other ensembles, and co-founding America’s new last great rock band, Taper’s Choice (a jam outfit formed with members of Real Estate and Vampire Weekend)”.
 
The story resumes in Los Angeles. In the fall of 2022, Darkside booked a series of shows to reintroduce themselves as a live entity for the first time in eight years.And here we are in 2025 dancing around the different coloured architecture of the new album, It is a spirit as much of a sound, a set of feelings and whatever the nothing of it all is, an always uplifting almost defiant sound, a positive feel,warm, glowing at times, it does feel like possibilities, about the ways forward there still might be, or maybe it is just a very enjoyable escape from far too many realities piling up on far too many realities? There are some beautiful details, some left turns that after multiple plays you’re still not expecting and imagine all the people living in hell, it doesn’t take much, this is about as far away from hell as it could sound but it doesn’t take much, we’re in Part One of the Hell Suite, Hell Suite (Part Two) will be along in three and a a bit minutes and that is a delicious bit of organ and looking out of the window maybe hell but in here? Well in here just sounds full of soul and a handful of sunshine and everything subtle and easy and flowing and beautifully put together, instinctive, distinctive.

Sin El Sol Noy Hay Nada is laced with such a fine start, Sin El Sol Noy Hay Nada is a thing of beauty, a slowly building thing of beauty and when the static cuts in then that is beautiful as well, like trying to clean a window to see if you can believe what you see. And then we’re back around to the atmosphere of album opener Slau again and yes, let’s play it again, that is probably the 43 time so far today and the details in the almost minimal opener glow before that falsetto vocal kicks in two and bit minutes from the start of it and yes, just one time around, play it again Sam, there’s nothing on my mind…  (sw)

Nothing is released on February 28th 2025.

Here’s the Bandcamp and the band’s website and a whole load of other links

And from a year ago….