Dark Room Notes’ blog

This Saturday! - see http://www.adayinthelifefestival.com/page2.htm for more details

UK and Ireland shows announced Hi all,

We're delighted to be able to announce some new shows in March/April as follows:

March 1st - Akoustik Anarkhy @ The Boom Boom Room, Dublin

DRN have been asked to headline a gig for the Dublin offshoot of cult Manchester / London club night and record label Akoustik Anarkhy - http://www.myspace.com/akoustikanarkhydublin

Also appearing on the night will be the following UK acts; its a buffalo (fresh from a UK support tour with The Courteeners) - http://www.myspace.com/itsabuffalo
LA Pals - http://www.myspace.com/lapals
Sam and Me - http://www.myspace.com/samandme

Expect some DRN away fixtures at AA nights in London and Manchester over the coming months also.

March 15th - Roisin Dubh, Galway

DRN Headline the Roisin's Paddy's Weekend Saturday Night Special - and even better, its free in!

April 18th - The Village, Dublin

We're putting on our biggest Irish show so far thanks to the lovely people at Forever Presents - http://www.foreverpresents.ie - a headliner at the Village on Friday night.

Support on the night will come from the enigmatic seven-piece collective of multi-instrumentalists that is 8Ball, for a rare live outing - http://www.myspace.com/8balltheband

Expect outlandish costumes and genre-defying grooves that have been compared to CSNY and DJ Shadow in one review. 8Ball are not to be missed live. Plus we're dying to see if we can fit all their turntables, synths, drums, toytronica and assorted bits and pieces on stage with our ever-expanding collection of gear.

We'll also be laying on a full Visual backdrop and a special guest DJ to warm things up on the night.

Tickets will be available from tomorrow from http://www.tickets.ie http://www.ticketmaster.ie and from WAV

April 30th - The Old Blue Last, Shoreditch, London

Our first outing into the live scene in the UK gets off to a good start with a headline show at the Old Blue Last, voted London's "Best Live Music Venue" by The Evening Standard. The NME recently awarded it the accolade of being "The Coolest Pub in the World." - see http://www.theoldbluelast.com for more details.

We'll also be playing some supports in the same venue in the run-up to this gig TBA.

That's all for now - watch this space for more news, including some tracks we'll be putting up for free download in the next week or so.

DRN

Dark Room Notes

Written by Tom Rowe

Tuesday, 23 October 2007

A new Irish band hits the touring circuit. It is time to take note.   Irish band Dark Room Notes seem to gather comparisons with the murkier side of electro pop, usually bands like New Order, Interpol or Joy Division. While the comparisons have some basis, DRN are far from gloomy, just a bit too cool for the small town scene they have to play. But this cool does not translate into pretension, just humorous and knowledgeable asides to their favourite artists, photographers and filmmakers.   Their name indicates a distinct interest in images, and indeed some band members have day jobs in the Dublin Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar. This was the location for one of their videos, a quality production that paid homage to Godard with their own tounge-in-cheek version of the dance routine from Bande á part.  French New Wave cinema is the only hint of the sixties in DRN’s line. Otherwise, they seem to be enthralled by the 1980’s. Pumping drumming from the oddly named Camera adds to the vocal harmonising of Ronan, Rurai and Arran, who variously play synths and guitars. Loud jangly guitars build to crescendos, yet maintain a rhythmic balance.   When the band play live, outlandish electronic sounds emanate from the stage. The most recent gig in Dublin was in Crawdaddy, where a packed-in crowd was thoroughly entertained with a barnstorming set, complete with dramatic visuals and little time to breathe between stomping electro-rock tunes. This was the launch of DRN’s latest EP, Dead Start Program, one of a series of highly produced releases since their first excellent Love Like Nicotine single from April, a signature song that locks itself in your head and surfaces at the most unlikely times, memorable yet elusive.   The EP features four tracks, combining the girl/boy vocals and changing melodies that worked so well at Crawdaddy. Opener Slow Puncture is punky and tuneful, while closing and standout track Shake Shake My Ceiling is minimal and chaotic. Highly recommended.   Dead Start Program is currently being toured around Ireland. Upcoming gigs include 31 October in Kennedy’s in Dublin, 2 November in Electric Avenue in Waterford, 3 November in Village, Dublin and 11 November Nimmos in Galway

Sputnikmusic.com

It’s hard to tell whether Dark Room Notes take themselves very seriously indeed, or if they’re far more self-aware than they look. The video for their infectious debut single, the stop-start dance number ‘Love Like Nicotine,’ doesn’t help an awful lot: on the one hand, the black and white clip ends with a hilarious synchronised dance routine a la OK Go; on the other, it’s actually an homage to a scene from a classic French art film I’m not cultured enough to have seen. Two of the band’s numbers are former photography majors, hence the name, and sensationally the drummer’s name is ‘Camera’ Shanahan. They’re unquestionably arty and aloof, yet as much as I’d love to brand them pretentious wankers, they pull it off with style and no little attention to detail. The production value on the four songs which make up their debut EP, Dead Start Program, is impeccable and, hackneyed though the ‘indie electronic’ tag has become, the group do have something of a distinctive sound, mainly due to the unusual (for the genre) vocals of singer/guitarist Ronan Gaughan.

The EP opens with ‘Slow Puncture,’ an ultra-melodic collision of Ash-style pop punk and New Order-style pure pop, which is given a vaguely progressive feel by the constantly shifting underlying melodies and the clever alternating use of male and female support vocals. There’s something gothicly morbid about the lyrics, and they’re just smart enough to avoid being trite, as Gaughan sings, “saw you on mood street/saw you in the window/loved you like a daydream/killed you in a minute.” The synth hook which underpins the verse of ‘I Walked To The River’ lifts and dives in a manner not dissimilar to ABBA’s ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’; the guitar work is sparse and tasteful in the vein of The Smiths’ Johnny Marr or The Cure’s Porl Thompson, and the breathless, Bowie-tinged vocals gift the track an odd sort of sensuality common to much of AFI’s recent material. ‘Oh How Your Roses Wither Fast’ recalls The Killers at their Hot Fuss best with an obnoxious rave throwback melody, but the vocals are pure Britpop, falling somewhere between Tim Wheeler and Ian Brown.

The best is saved for last, however; closing track ‘Shake Shake My Ceiling’ hinges upon a no-nonsense Pixies-like bass line with minimal electronic input, before resolving (or unravelling) into a controlled chaos of voices, reminiscent of recent Bloc Party singles. Ironic though it is that the EP’s best track is the least electronic of them all, it does neatly sum up the range and sonic versatility Dark Room Notes can display in a very short space of time. The influences are obvious, but rarely do the group sound like they’re imitating the groups they reference. The only real complaint that can be offered about Dead Start Program is that at just four tracks, and fifteen minutes, it feels almost like a meal half-finished, begging for more. As a snack, though, it works, and it’s probably veggie-friendly too.

Entertainment.ie

Since wowing the masses at Hard Working Class Heroes last month - and consequently being tipped as one of the most exciting young bands on the scene, Galway quartet Dark Room Notes are out to prove that their worth is more valuable than an brilliant debut single and a couple of impressive remixes. Although there's nothing as immediately grabbing as Love Like Nicotine on display here, Dead Start Program is equally enjoyable nonetheless. Slow Puncture and I Walked To the River both adhere to the band's love of dark '80s indie, with smatterings of atmospheric synths and New Order-style guitars over a poppy rhythm, and Ronan Gaughan's distinctive, semi-strained vocal style suits the mood perfectly. It's closer Shake Shake My Ceiling that's most enjoyable here, though, its suave undercurrent of menace providing the tastiest synthtastic morsel. We await the album with anticipation.

Mongrel Magazine

Like a hands-on-ass kiss in the back of a steamy nightclub, the Dark Room Notes EP starts off slow but gives you the feeling that as the night wears on, you will probably get laid. With New Order-esque rhythms and a sprinkling of Joy Division’s moodiness, they go where quite a few have gone before - but this might only occur to you the morning after. Pretty soon DRN won’t need a quickie with the likes of us.

Dark Room Notes' new EP "Dead Start Program" will be released 12/10/07

Have a listen now and let us know what you think!

DRN

Not only are Dark Room Notes in possession of perhaps the coolest band name of 2007 (if you like that sort of thing), their debut single - the so-hip-it's-in-need-of-a-replacement Love Like Nicotine - is equally as marvellous as their opaque moniker. It's a superb, dark, danceable, funky, sleazy synth-riddled, uptempo indie track that recalls both Interpol without the monotone Ian Curtis-esque vocals and Bloc Party without the overly studious art-rock sound, all coated in a thick layer of experimental, yet not alienating fuzz. B-sides include a stripped-down remix of the track by Trixton, and an eerie sci-fi compound by U2/Depeche Mode producer Flood. For a debut single, it's not only scarily accomplished, but also one of the best of the year so far.

The Dublin music scene is in rude health at the moment, not least due to the explosion of new, original and wholly modern bands. Leading the pack are newcomers Dark Room Notes who create music as intimate and dark as their name might suggest. Channeling the likes of Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine and Depeche Mode, the three boys and one girl recently released their blistering synth-driven single, Love Like Nicotine. It's certainly an exciting taste of great things to come - layered, complex and unique, this is electro-indie pop at its loveliest. With buzz growing on the young noiseniks by the day, expect their handful of Irish dates in early June to be rather memorable indeed.

It's doubtful that anyone who'd heard the enticing intro to Dark Room Notes' excellent debut single Love Like Nicotine could fail to want to know at least a little more. The only thing is, further exposure to this band's intense, intelligent electro-pop could easily become a 20-a-day habit. Trying to make notes in this dark room, that is Underground at Kennedy's, while the four-piece are onstage is a largely pointless exercise. Upon hearing their stunning opener Broken Nail, its apparent we're in the presence of a band who demand to be watched with the same intensity that they apply to their performance and writing. The song's Psycho Killer-like rhythm halts the murmur of conversation in the room, while all eyes focus on smartly-attired lead singer, Ronan Gaughan. A frontman in a light-coloured suit and tie is unusual to behold these days, but it puts one in mind of similarly dressed bands of the 1980s, an era when such superior euro-tinged pop was the height of chart sophistication. If that sounds derogatory, then it isn't meant to be - songs of this ilk were underrated by self-styled hipsters back then but it's to be hoped they take their rightful place in everyone's affections this time around. Behind Gaughan is a professional, committed and thoroughly watchable band. Camera Shanahan is a superb and eye-catching drummer; jumper-wearing guitarist and keyboardist Ruairi Ferrie may look like a science lecturer but his contribution is cool, knowing and first-rate; meanwhile, the chic and cheerful Arran Murphy not only provides irresistible synth hooks, but her perfect harmonising is as addictive as the nicotine to which they allude. In fact, such is the outfit's natural pop sensitivity, that their brilliant single is far from their finest moment. This dark, sophisticated and superior homegrown pop is precisely what our undernourished chart has been screaming out for.

Having gigged everywhere from Galway (Roisin Dubh and support to Psapp in Cuba) to Berlin over the last year the Dublin based foursome with a Galway connection (two of the lads hail from the musical hotbed of Menlo) come good on all the hype surrounding them with their excellent debut single "Love Like Nicotine". Insistent guitars, melodic synths and driving drums come together in an infectiously catchy perfect electronic indie pop way. Expect big things!

With the possible exception of the long-awaited Delorentos album, the emergence of the Dark Room Notes and their debut single 'Love Like Nicotine' is the most hotly-tipped ticket in an admittedly slow opening to 2007. Frantic, catchy and tuneful (in that out-of-tune Arcade Fire kind of way), 'Love Like Nicotine' is a barnstorming debut that is crying out for hours of radio play. Its a bit like Electronica for slow learners, a bit of a throwback to something with 1986 stamped beneath the bar code but still with a very modern contemporary sound. The keys and synths are there but so too is a driving drum beat and some sharp guitar that suggests a little metal in the heritage. They have already been mooted as late additions for Oxegen but, in my humblest of humble opinions, I think they would find a more discerning and interested ear at either the Electric Picnic or even Gort's new Life festival. 9/10.

Dark Room Notes started just like every other band, playing the same places going through the same things. Where DRN is different is in their rapidly accelerating ascent upwards. From their somewhat unremarkable beginnings, interest continues to grow, to the extent that each gig the band play is accompanied by an intense air of anticipation: an anticipation which was transfered to the recent release of their debut single. 'Love Like Nicotine' lives up to even the highest expectations. The influence of classic 80s pop is strong, while a convincing new electronica base fortifies the song's place in the annals of this decades alternative. What's next? An April gig in the Sugar Club, doubtless featuring all the electricity and intense, head-pounding rock we've come to expect from the group. Then, maybe a debut album and hopefully some international dates. In the meantime, rumours abound that DRN will be playing at this year's Oxegen festival, but these are as yet unconfirmed.

Watch the video for "Love Like Nicotine"

And here's some footage of DRN performing their upcoming single "Slow Puncture" Live at the Crawdaddy, Dublin

Yep, 160,000 CDs featuring Dark Room Notes are being given away on Friday 20th April in copies of the Star.

The CD has been prepared by IMRO (The Irish Music Rights Organisation) and RTE 2FM (Ireland's National Broadcaster) to showcase the very best bands on the current Irish scene, and DRN feature prominently. Previous acts championed by IMRO have incuded the likes of Director, The Immediate, The Thrills etc.

In other news DRN will be interviewed on Phantom FM on Friday 13th April at 10.30 am - you can listen live on the net via www.phantom.fm - on Saturday the 14th they'll be headlining the Phantom "I-Con Live Stage" show which will be recorded and broadcast on the station. We'll try and put up some tracks from the show after they've been aired.

That's it for now.

DRN