REVIEW: Strange Weather, Somewhere Cold

December 31, 2016 | Jason Lamoreaux

Deardarkhead is a shoegaze band made up of Kevin Harrington (guitar), Robert Weiss (drums), and Kevin McCauley (bass). They hail from Linwood, New Jersey and formed in 1988. Between their last album, Unlock the Valves of Feeling and Strange Weather, there is an 18-year silence. Thankfully, Deardarkhead has reemerged on Saint Marie Records joining a resurgence of shoegaze and dream-pop music. Strange Weather sees the band return as a trio, producing six pieces of ethereal, blissed out tunes. They deftly merge the best of post-punk and shoegaze to create addictive instrumental tracks.

“Falling Upward” sets the tone for Strange Weather and it begins with subdued, whirling drones and muffled guitars. Then the volume begins to rise and the drums and bass explode into the speakers. The guitar tones here are reminiscent of early post-punk music mixed with the best elements of shoegaze with glittering guitar tones and expressive melodies. “Sunshine Through the Rain” has a bright tone to it, with mid-tempo drums, driving bass, and jangly guitar. The hooks here are brilliant. They are the kind that get stuck in your head and having you humming along. Deardarkhead produce addictive music and it’s a wonderful mix of new musical elements and tones with dabs of post-punk nostalgia.

“Juxta Mare” is a fast tempo piece with racing high-hat that turns into a tom oriented beat. There are splashes of The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen mixed with the wonders of early Lush here. Again, Deardarkhead’s output is deeply addictive and hypnotic. “March Hares” has a deep rumbling bass with this amazingly wonderful aggressive guitar hook playing over mid-tempo drums. This is a post-punk masterpiece right here, unapologetic and in your face. With only three elements to the band’s musical make-up, each one must be strong and Harrington, Weiss, and McCauley deliver on their various pieces. There is no weak link here.

“Ice Age” is another track filled with catchy riffs and perfectly phrased bass and drums. There is a sort of galloping beat with reverbed-out guitars that play off the animated bassline. If there is a stand-out piece on this album, for me it’s “Ice Age”, but that’s like picking among six solid tracks. “Thinking Back” begins with subtle guitar and a slower beat. The guitar work creates a hazy wall of sound with touches of fuzz. As “Thinking Back” builds, the guitars get bigger and louder with the percussion and bass becoming more and more syncopated and aggressive. A fantastic ending to the album.

Deardarkhead has made a striking comeback with Strange Weather. Blending post-punk and shoegaze elements, Strange Weather is a must have album for any discerning listener. Further, if you were a Deardarkhead fan before and were nervous about them lacking a lead singer, you shouldn’t be. The compositions are deep, full, and will certainly get you hooked.

https://somewherecold.net/2016/12/31/deardarkhead-strange-weather-saint-marie-records-2016/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, The Big Takeover

2016 | Elizabeth Klisiewicz

Atlantic City might seem like a strange home for shoegaze, but despite their EP title, there is nothing strange about Deardarkhead’s majestic, instrumental brand. They pull out all the stops on this madly whirling dervish, throwing down shimmering walls of feedback, then pulling back to dreamy textures to make you swoon. “Falling Upward” starts like old school Chameleons before jacking up the energy to 11; “Ice Age” has cool bass and percussion lines that skitter along in the best post punk tradition, and its companion, “Juxta Mare,” skids more toward classic shoegaze; “March Hares” sounds massive with booming drums and guitar that reminds me of “She Sells Sanctuary”-era Cult; “Thinking Back” is a crowning achievement, with towering shards of blissed out guitar and thick bass. The entire ep slips by in a flash, leaving the listener wanting much more.

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Jersey Beat

June 16, 2016 | Joe Wawrzyniak

Beautifully moody and dynamic, with a stunning wealth of pungent brooding atmosphere and a wealth of tasty big meaty hooks, this six song album of all instrumental music manages to convey a remarkably expressive soundscape rife with crackling vitality and naked emotion despite the absence of any words or vocals. The tight and tuneful arrangements hit the bull's eye with bracing accuracy and aptitude: The cutting guitars slice away with remorseless precision, the teeming basslines provide lots of gutty undertow, and the powerful drums lay down a steady succession of massive steamrolling beats. An ideal album to get lost in whenever you need a break from the tiresome grind of basic everyday existence.

http://www.jerseybeat.com/world-according-to-wawrzyniak.html

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Shore Local News

May 6, 2016 | Bob Portella

Deardarkhead’s Strange Weather 

South Jersey's deardarkhead have been toiling away in somewhat obscurity for what seems like decades...28 years to be exact. They play an atmospheric, instrumental rock style (self-described as "oceanic") that owes debt to British post-punk bands like The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen and Cocteau Twins.The Linwood-based band, which formed in 1988, has had their fortunes change recently. A new deardarkhead record "Strange Weather" was released on March 25th on the Texas-based label Saint Marie Records. Reviews and response to Strange Weather have been very positive so far from many corners of the world. A previous compilation of their earlier material from the 1990’s was released in 2011 on the Brooklyn label Captured Tracks, home to popular indie rock artists such as Mac DeMarco and Beach Fossils. 

The recent resurgence and reunions of many similar-sounding bands, defined as “dream pop” or “shoegaze" (such as My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, and Lush) have helped lesser known, yet hard-working bands such as deardarkhead find a wider audience. “Unlike the well known bands from the original shoegaze scene, we’ve never stopped playing since we started and people are finally beginning to discover us. Although we have evolved over the years, we have tried to remain true to our sound while still being modern and not stuck in the past. We don’t make music for the masses, and given the sorry state of mainstream music today we wouldn’t want to,” says drummer and founding member Robert Weiss. 

The band also comprises guitarist Kevin Harrington who joined in 1992 and bassist Kevin McCauley who joined in 2010, replacing former bassist/vocalist Michael Amper. They remain an instrumental trio to this point,but would be willing to find a vocalist if one came along. “Losing your singer would be a major setback for most bands, but it has forced us to be more creative in our songwriting and we are very happy exploring our new direction; it would really have to be the right person,” says Weiss of the situation. 

For now, deardarkhead's power resides in Harrington's melodic,flowing effects-laden guitar lines and the sturdy rhythm section of Weiss and McCauley.Recording and production was done in Philadelphia's Miner Street studio, bringing out perhaps the finest sounding piece of music in the band's career. For now, who needs vocals? There is so much to take in and get lost in their epic, shimmering sound. Hopefully, deardarkhead's fortunes will continue "Falling Upward"-- as noted in the propulsive opening track-- proving that persistence does indeed pay off.

https://issuu.com/makf/docs/localshore__5_m_south_web

REVIEW: Strange Weather, The Vinyl District

May 4, 2016 | Joseph Neff

Record labels have long served a necessary if occasionally nefarious function, and predictions of their eventual obsolescence to the contrary, they remain very important in getting music into earholes and physical product into covetous mitts, and more to the point the appropriate audience; one of the advantages of the smaller independent sector is the ability to craft an identity that consumers will potentially return to again and again.

That’s the case with Saint Marie. If the indie business is still healthy the margin for error has certainly decreased in the digital era; too many missteps and an enterprise will probably find itself kaput. One smart maneuver is to embrace the longevity of substance over the ephemerality of style; Saint Marie has done so by signing up deardarkhead, an Atlantic City NJ-based combo active since 1988.

For the majority of their existence they featured the bass and voice of Michael Amper. Upon his exit in 2009 guitarist Kevin Harrington and drummer Robert Weiss chose not to cease operations until a full-on replacement was found, instead grabbing bassist Kevin McCauley and recording Strange Weather as an instrumental while continuing to seek a suitable vocalist.

Those wishing to absorb how deardarkhead sounded early are advised to investigate Oceanside: 1991-1993 compilation issued in 2011. They shouldn’t do so at the expense of the group’s latest however, as Strange Weather’s six tracks, at 25 minutes hovering in that gray zone betwixt EP and LP, offer fully-formed songs that tease the ears for a lengthier listen.

Oceanside was the second installment in Captured Tracks’ Shoegaze Archives, and while elements of the form can surely be detected here, the set also explores deardarkhead’s cited tendency toward post-punk with emphasis on catchiness, tightness, and drive throughout. The songs play to their instrumental strengths as incompleteness is pleasantly absent; nothing connects as being conceived with a singer in mind.

Combining crisp guitar and a tough Joy Div/ Cure-descended rhythmic foundation, the set’s opener “Falling Upward” avoids the mopey and gradually elevates to an energetic conclusion. “Sunshine Through the Rain” follows with an excursion into dream-popish territory as “Juxta Mare” provides a lively tempo to showcase Harrington’s axe.

“March Hares” begins side two to deliver the record its rousing standout, “Ice Age” is a deft blend of atmospherics and momentum and “Thinking Back” spreads out with rolling bass notes, sharp guitar tones and drum kit gallop to bestow Strange Weather a sturdy finale. Harnessing a sustained, fertile environment, the album’s main sticking point is its relative shortness.

B+

http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2016/05/graded-on-a-curve-new-in-stores-from-saint-marie-records/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Tuning Into The Obscure

May 3, 2016 | Tuning Into The Obscure

A rare reemergence of a band that’s been around since 1988! Leaning on post rock and shoegaze mainly, I can also pick up hints of new wave, psyche and electro-rock. This album is made up entirely of instrumentals, a first out of my pile of albums from this label thus far. Think Ozric Tentacles meets the Cure with dashes of psyche and a lot more shoegaze…this is what you’d get.  And really, it’s pretty good. Certainly a surprise. (4.7 out of 5)

https://tuningintoobscure.wordpress.com/2016/05/03/the-long-awaited-showcase-for-saint-marie-records/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Music For Lunch/Get It On Vinyl

April 30, 2016 | Deann S.

The beginning for deardarkhead was in 1988 while the true beginning and origin of the band name came in 1867. Post-punk-shoegaze-dream rockers, deardarkhead, derived their band name from an old Irish poem by Sir Samuel Ferguson about a beautiful woman with jet black locks called “Cean Dubh Dilis”. The trio hails from New Jersey with current band members Kevin Harrington, Robert Weiss and Kevin McCauley who joined after Michael Amper, member of over 10 years, left. This turnover in band members inspired an interesting alteration to deardarkhead’s sound: lack of vocals until the right voice is found. The latest EP, Strange Weather, features six thickly layered, high energy instrumental tracks that make up for the lack of vocals with quality instrumentals and stunning song structure.

Within the lack of vocals, the mind is free to wander, wonder and contemplate the only text associated with the record, the EP title (Strange Weather) and the track titles. It opens subtly with “Falling Upward”, creeping into your consciousness, sounding as if coming from far away, rapidly moving closer. It is here the sonic journey that is Strange Weather, begins and deardarkhead’s journey into the 21st Century. Strange Weather is the first record from deardarkhead since the 90’s and it’s clear the group has found their place here in this new century.

Following “Falling Upward” is the bright and uplifting track, “Sunshine Through the Rain.” The sound captures the spectacle of sunlight bursting through streams of rain, the confusion in our mind as both warm sunlight and cool drops of rain simultaneously contact our skin. Herein lies the beauty of deardarkhead sans, vocals: they are forced to more deeply create and conceptualize their music. And despite their current instrument-only state, the trio is still able to create music with such diversity in tempo, sound and overall mood, coloring their six-track EP in stark and vivid shades.

The B side begins with a bang with “March Hares”, a catchy track with an infectious hook and more than memorable melody. The lead guitar really shines through on this piece and the following track, “Ice Age”, dually acting as the lead vocals. The EP finishes out with the contemplative, “Thinking Back”, which reflects perfectly upon the rest of the album and brilliantly leads back to the opening cut, full circle.

Strange Weather is a triumphant work for deardarkhead and proof to them that they can create music that is equally as compelling, communicative and cutting edge without the work of the human voice. Strange Weather is out now on Saint Marie Records and can be purchased on iTunes and through Saint Marie.

https://musicforlunch.com/2016/04/30/album-review-strange-weather-by-deardarkhead/
http://getitonvinyl.com/deardarkhead-strange-weather/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Wilfully Obscure

April 28, 2016 | Spavid

I don't often listen to instrumental rock, but when I do. I listen to Deardarkhead. Unlike most contingents in the Saint Marie stable, this trio isn't exactly oven fresh, as its first iteration had their antecedents back to the Bush-era (and I'm not referring to "W"). Minted in Atlantic City in 1988 Deardarkhead originally had a microphone fiend in their lineup, one Michael Amper, who commandeered the band through a series of demos and short-form releases before taking a break in the mid '90s, and resurfacing with their first full length in 1998. Another hiatus ensued, but when DDH resumed in 2009, Amper opted to excuse himself. In a nutshell, they carried on sans vocalist and emerged with a new EP this year, Strange Weather. Guitar slinger Kevin Harrington sounds like he's lived in the distortion pedals of Marty Wilson Piper, Billy Duffy (The Cult) and John Ashton (Psych Furs) as he doles out spindles of echoing lines that arpeggio and recoil into heady, robust swirls that always manage to make a smooth descent back to Earth.  "Juxta Mare" works the most magic for me, and though I'd be open for more variety on a DDH follow-up, Strange Weather's allure is downright invigorating. 

http://wilfullyobscure.blogspot.com/2016/04/jeff-runnings-deardarkhead-and-high.html

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Collective Zine

April 20, 2016 | MH

Apparently this is "arctic shoegaze". That's what the email said that this came in on anyway. If I'd been a bit more alert I would've been aware of them by now as they have been around since 1988. I must've been half asleep when Captured Tracks put out a retrospective by them in 2012 too. So here I am I'm hearing them now for the first time in 2016 and what I'm hearing is something like upbeat rhythm-focused and melodic instrumental shoegaze with a fairly clean production. I like it - the guitar sound fits in great with stuff like Diiv - there's even guitar lines that sound like The Cure gone upbeat. At six tracks long I'm keen to hear more.

http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/reviews/?id=10435

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Bloodbuzzed

April 3, 2016 | Raül Jiménez

A very very late finding, I admit. Formed in 1988, the veteran New Jersey band consisted of guitarist Kevin Harrington, drummer Robert Weiss, and bassist/singer Michael Amper, who recorded, under their own label Fertile Crescent, two initial tapes, the mini-album 'Greetings from the Infernal Village' in 1988, and the EP 'Spiral Down and Vibrate', in 1991, followed by EPs 'Melt Away Too Soon' in 1992 and 'Ultraviolet' a year later. In what can be considered a first long hiatus, the group didn't come back to action until 1998, when first LP 'Unlock the Valves of Feeling' appeared, vanishing again throughout the 2000s and somewhat reforming as an instrumental trio after the departure of Amper in 2009, with new bassist Kevin McCauley joining in 2010. In 2012 Captured Tracks compiled the group's three EPs in the album 'Oceanside: 1991-1993', second installment of the label's Shoegaze Archives series, pushing the momentum back for the band. And now the trio is back with their first proper release in nearly two decades, the instrumental EP 'Strange Weather', out via Saint Marie Records since this March. Kaleidoscopic, cinematic, moody and slightly psychedelic yet elegant, Deardarkhead are here to provide you the soundtrack of your emotions.

http://bloodbuzzed.blogspot.com/2016/04/discoverer-141-new-indie-findings.html

REVIEW: Strange Weather, The LookOut

March 30, 2016 | Tommy Leahy

Previously known as an established shoegazing act, New Jersey’s Deardarkhead made the decision to morph into an instrumental project following their lead vocalist’s departure. Unlike previously mentioned instrumental bands, Deardarkhead keeps things short, sweet, yet interesting. The loss of a frontman generated pressure for the trio to create atmospheres and soundscapes far more captivating than their previous works. Long story short: they pulled it off. Give Deardarkhead a try if you’re looking for vocal-free tunes that are not necessarily centered in long, build ups.

http://thelookoutboston.com/2016/03/30/latest-list-32516-beastmaker-deardarkhead-domo-genesis-more/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Soundblab

March 24, 2016 | D R Pautsch

7 out of 10

Pop quiz, hot shot: You are a band who have existed for 22 years [sic]. You have supported some big acts, have a style that is a throwback to the late 80s, and have not released anything since 1993 [sic]. Your lead singer leaves. What do you do?

Well, in the case of deardarkhead, you don't do what most people would do and call it quits. You double down and release a six track instrumental only EP, while still claiming you haven't yet found the singer of your choice.

Now if you are not familiar with deardarkhead, their musical style is shoegaze. So imagine a shoegaze instrumental sound which leans towards that genre of dispute known as post-rock. If you can imagine than, then you are in the ballpark of Strange Weather their latest offering.

It's interesting to imagine these track with lyrics, would they work? Is the music too dense to support the lines that have been written? Have the lyrics actually been written. During the 25 minutes that Strange Weather swoons around you these thoughts and more swim to the surface.

From the slow build of opening track Falling Upward to the final notes of Thinking Back you are filled with jangly guitars, circular hooks and progressive melody that hints at where a chorus might be. The insistent guitars and music is best exemplified by March Hares. With a bass and drum section leading the way and propelling the guitars into a happy jangly pop song that screams to be used in a soundtrack somewhere, but almost feels a little hollow without lyrics. The songs work instrumentally but if they ever find a vocalist you could image this being re-released with vocals.

This is an intriguing album that jangles its way along merrily enough but doesn't quite enough to hook you fully.

http://soundblab.com/reviews/albums/9207-deardarkhead-strange-weather-deardarkhead

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Raised By Gypsies

March 28, 2016 | Joshua Macala

There comes a time in every person's life- I believe- where they have to admit that music does not need vocals/words to be good. You can go all the way back to classical music if you really want to, but if you prefer to stay closer to the present then I suggest not looking any further than Deardarkhead's "Strange Weather", an EP full of instrumental numbers which are more powerful than a lot of songs with words I've heard before.

Of course I struggle to find a genre to put Deardarkhead in simply because they don't have vocals and I tend to feel like the singing style of someone can dictate where to put them if you, say, own a record store. For the most part, these songs are a throwback to earlier years but not too long ago- maybe the 1980's or early 1990's.   It's what I would call post-punk if I believed punk was dead, pulling influences in from Thursday (without the -core) and in their own way Deardarkhead even manages to sound a bit like an upbeat version of The Cure. 

Aside from the fact that you could think of any number of bands such as Modern English to compare this with- depending upon your own personal influences growing up- I think you just have to sit back and admire the pure musicianship of it all. The fourth song really begins to sing on its own, even without vocals, and that's something not many bands can or have ever been able to pull off. 

It should go without saying that the musical instruments are the stars of this EP (Well, the humans playing them technically) but if you don't feel these thunderous bass lines, infectious guitar riffs or just the all around stellar drum work on "Strange Weather" then you are really not listening to it properly. It's not like you have to find it hiding behind vocals about whatever-- it's all just right there, in your face (specifically your ears) and it's very easy for me to have this serve as a soundtrack to my life. 

http://raisedbygypsies.blogspot.com/2016/03/cd-review-deardarkhead-strange-weather.html

REVIEW: Strange Weather, AllMusic

March 25, 2016 | Paul Simpson

Active since the late '80s, New Jersey-based dream poppers Deardarkhead only have a handful of releases to their name, and merely one of them is a proper full-length. That album, Unlock the Valves of Feeling, appeared back in 1998; since then, the group's original bass player and vocalist Michael Amper departed from the group in 2009, and the band soldiered on as a vocal-free trio along with replacement bassist Kevin McCauley, who joined in 2010. Following Captured Tracks' 2011 anthology of the group's early-'90s EPs (Oceanside: 1991-1993), Strange Weather is Deardarkhead's first newly released material of the 21st century, and it reveals them as an impressive instrumental unit with no apparent need for useless, empty words. The EP is far more focused than one might expect of an instrumental EP from a band that formerly had a vocalist. The group's music has often had an urgency to it -- they've never been the type of shoegaze band to stick to hazy, stoned-sounding slow tempos -- and here they sound positively energized and vibrant. There's a bit of a post-punk, Cure-esque jangle to the guitars, but they don't drown them in effects. The melodies are clear and upfront, and strangely enough, it almost seems like the band has gained more of a pop sensibility since losing its vocalist. All of the tracks sound different, from the thundering toms of "March Hares" to the slightly heavier, more psychedelic guitar textures of "Thinking Back," so the songs all have distinct personalities rather than just sounding like variations on a similar groove. There's a tinge of wistfulness to the melodies, but overall they sound bright and summery. Deardarkhead are commendable for their preference of the EP format, as their releases usually don't wear out their welcome. Strange Weather feels like a fresh new start, even if it's been at least half a decade in the making.

3 1/2 stars out of 5

http://www.allmusic.com/album/strange-weather-mw0002917228

REVIEW: Strange Weather, The RingMaster Review

March 23, 2016 | Pete RingMaster

Rousingly fascinating is probably the best way to describe Strange Weather, the new EP from New Jersey trio deardarkhead, that and gloriously suggestive. Across six tracks as cinematic as they are emotionally intimate upon the imagination, band and release immerses the listener in its and their own sculpted exploits. The release is an anthem to the conjuring of bold imaginative adventures and a tapestry of creative virulence for ears to bask in.

The beginnings of deardarkhead go way back to 1988 since when the band has released five recordings on their own Fertile Crescent Records label with a retrospective of their early work additionally released in 2012 by Captured Tracks. Their distinctive fusion of post punk, indie rock, shoe gaze, and dream pop has been greedily devoured by an increasing many whilst their live presence has seen the band play with the likes of Supergrass, The Psychedelic Furs, Everclear and The Lilys amongst numerous other. Despite numerous compilation appearances, and that 2011 retrospective  Oceanside: 1991-1993 since last album Unlock the Valves of Feeling was released in 1998, you might say that deardarkhead have been a ‘forgotten’ treat by many; if so that is set to inescapably change with the release of Strange Weather.

Always luring inquiring interest with each release, the band has probably ignited the strongest intrigue with the new EP as it is their first without long time singer/bassist Michael Amper who left the band in 2009. His departure only seemed to ignite a hunger to explore their instrumental side as remaining members, guitarist Kevin Harrington and drummer Robert Weiss proceeded to move in that direction and perform instrumental shows after linking up with bassist Kevin McCauley the following year. The suggestion is that the band is looking for the right vocalist to bring in but on the evidence of Strange Weather, and its empowering potency, you wonder if it will be any loss not finding the right man.

From its first track Strange Weather has ears and emotions enthralled, the imagination just as swiftly ignited as Falling Upward emerges from chilling winds within a dank atmosphere. It is pulled from the wasteland by a nagging guitar, its sonic lure soon colluding with the resonating bait of the bass and crispy textured beats. With them comes a tenacious catchy resourcefulness which infectiously lines the post punk hook and bass groove which subsequently entwine and enslave ears. All the tracks to the EP spark ideas and mental imagery, ones sure to differ person to person, but a cold war like landscape is ours adventure for the opener no doubt helped by having recently watched Deutschland 83. There feels a cinematic kinship between the band’s sound and those visuals with every leap into the sonic tapestry of the song pushing the story along.

With a touch of Leitmotiv to it, the track is a riveting start, leaving ears and pleasure lively and ready to embrace the warmer jangle of Sunshine Through The Rain which follows. There is a calmer air altogether to the song, a melodic radiance which wears the scent of eighties indie pop yet contrasts it with a steely proposal from bass and hypnotic beats. Again captivation is a given to its My Bloody Valentine aired persuasion though it is soon outshone by the thrills and dramas of both Juxta Mare and March Hares. The first of the pair unveils a sultry atmosphere around a delicious melodic hook and bassline which would not feel out of play of a sixties/seventies TV spy thriller. Its lean but thick lure is the spring for an evocative weave of sonic enterprise and suggestive melodies, all courted by the dark shadows of bass and the persistently jabbing swings of Weiss.

As outstanding as it is, it too gets eclipsed by its successor, March Hares stealing the whole show. From the pulsating rhythms of Weiss to the snarling tone of McCauley’s bass, the track has ears and an already lustful appetite enslaved. Their irresistible bait is then entangled in bewitching tendrils of sonic imagination from Harrington; the song subsequently swinging along in the web of their united craft and invention to entice body and spirit further. In full stride, the track has a great feel of The Monochrome Set to it, indeed Harrington’s stringed adventure carries a touch of the English band’s guitarist Lester Square to it as a House of Love shimmer and Birdland like rowdiness add to the slavery.

Ice Age immerses the listener into chillier post punk climes next; its nippy atmosphere and almost bleak ambience tempered by the sonic elegance seeping from the guitar within the anthemic tenacity of the drums. Again it is fair to say that the song lures physical and emotional involvement with ease before Thinking Back explores a maze of reflective melodies and evocative grooves within another addictive rhythmic frame. There is an essence of Echo & The Bunnymen and Bauhaus to the track as post punk and gothic lit shadows and depths spread through sound and thoughts.

The track is an imposingly mesmeric end to a spellbinding release. Strange Weather will have you breathless, excited, reflective, and going on a myriad of imagination bred adventures with its suggestive incitement. We are no experts on deardarkhead and their releases to date but the EP has to be up there as possibly their greatest moment yet.

https://ringmasterreviewintroduces.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/deardarkhead-strange-weather/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Stereo Embers Magazine

March 23, 2016 | Dave Cantrell

 

Intensity Density Space and Melody – Deardarkhead’s “Strange Weather"

Spooky. Liminal. Wrapped in gleaming smoke while twisting mirrors into ribbons. Vast of inference, flocked with spires of melody, circling you like a sonic Möbius strip, the noise Deardarkhead make invites more mystery than it solves which is almost certainly the point but what’s that matter when they sound as beguilingly gorgeous as this? History is arguably irrelevant when you have timelessness pouring out of the headphones in real time but the band in fact have one, stretching back to their inception in the post-postpunk year of our shoegazing lord 1988. Back then they had a singer. They don’t now. He left in 2009 and rather than find a replacement they instead found a new strength in his absence, continuing on their not-so-humble mission of seeking transcendence via bass drums guitar (handled respectively by Kevin McCauley, Robert Weiss, and Kevin Harrington), a phalanx of pedals and a shared intuition that burns at every turn.

Just six tracks because any more – based on the too-much-of-a-good-thing model – might cause the listener psychic damage, Strange Weather is a whirlwind of intensity, density, space, and melody. “Falling Upward” looms up out of some metallic mist and immediately seats itself in your solar plexus as a humming thrumming bass and a bright trance of guitar do this hypnotic Kevin-to-Kevin contrapuntal thing that disarms with utterly charming force, “Sunshine Through the Rain” glistens immediately with its title’s promise, a kind of vernal energy made electric, drums pounding like life itself, “Juxta Mare” has a skipping light heaviness to it as if Ride were the Stranglers or vice versa, “Ice Age” is what every post-punk instrumental both retrospectively and henceforth should be mandated to sound like, its basic bass groove and sky-spiking guitar lines suggesting an actually joyous Joy Division and which I nominate for track-of-the-month if not -year. That leaves two I haven’t mentioned and indeed I leave those for your own discovery since I strongly suspect that what’s been said here thus far will have you looking for your own copy of Strange Weather (try here starting 25 March 16) before you’re even done reading this sentence.

Not a word spoken on this album from pillar to post but in the end they are profoundly unneeded. This music moves in paragraphs of its own language anyway and in truth I’ve never, in a rock context, missed words less. Highly recommended.

http://stereoembersmagazine.com/26670-2/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Dagger 'Zine

March 19, 2016 | Tim Hinely

My initial thought was, “Damn….no vocals sooo… it’s an instrumental record?!” I wasn’t real happy, but after several listens I really like this. Oh sure, I wish they still had a vocalist (their previous vocalist Mike Amper left several years ago and has yet to be replaced)  but I’m not complaining (too much). This South Jersey band (from my hometown of Linwood…woot woot!!) have been at it since the late 80’s and have weathered all sorts of things that a band goes through (line up change, addiction to Cheetos, their official vehicle, a ’74 Pinto, constantly breaking down, etc.) It’s still drummer/founding member Rob Weiss, longtime guitarist Kevin Harrington and Kevin McCauley on bass (the new guy though he’s probably been in the band for 5-10 years for all I know). The Captured Tracks label released a terrific compilation of early stuff a few years ago, but this is the bands first new material in quite some time. Their influence comes from all things UK  and if you dig bands like the Pale Saints or Ride then what the DDH boys do will be ok with you. Cuts like the excellent moody opener, “Falling Upward”, the icier Sunshine Through the Rain”, the varied “Ice Age,” are as good as anything the band has done previously and to be honest, there’s not a bad cut among these six tunes. If you’ve never heard the band before give ‘em a listen, especially if you’re an anglophile searching for some new juice. I’m happy to say that Strange Weather is just great. www.saintmarierecords.com

http://daggerzine.tumblr.com/post/141305473552/deardarkhead-strange-weather-saint-marie

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Babysue

March 1, 2016 | LMNOP (aka dONW7)

The guys in Deardarkhead have been making music since 1988, so we're kinda embarrassed to admit that we've never heard 'em until now. Don't expect anything retro-1980s here, because retro-1980s these guys are not. This album features instrumentals that combine elements from hard rock and underground shoegazer drone. The band's music once featured vocals but now that both of the previous vocalists are no longer with the band they are (at least temporarily) an all-instrumental band. Considering this fact, you may be very surprised at how powerful these songs are. The band is now comprised of Kevin Harrington on guitar, Robert Weiss on drums, and Kevin McCauley on bass. For a three piece band these guys have a great big sound. This is a short album that clocks in at just over twenty-five minutes. But in that amount of time, these guys make it perfectly clear they're in it for the long run. Groovy, compelling, and hypnotic.

http://www.babysue.com/2016-March-LMNOP-Reviews.html#anchor1161969

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Whisperin' & Hollerin'

February 29, 2016 | simonovitch

Our Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Apparently Deardarkhead having been going since 1988 and have somehow totally passed me by until I was sent the band's latest album Strange Weather to review. This is a band who decided that after the singer left it was better to not replace him and become an instrumental shoegaze band instead which is at least a novel approach as to how to continue.

This also means that to this listener the albums 6 tracks over 26 minutes becomes pretty much one suite of music a kind of aural backwash that reminds me in places of one of the only other instrumental shoegaze band's that spring to mind which is Atlases. Only Deardarkhead seem to play a little bit quicker than Atlases and it also reminds me in places of the instrumental passages that Amusement Parks On Fire often have in their songs.

The opening piece may be called Falling Upward but it feels to me like we are descending slowly down a long spiral staircase into a dark room in which all sorts of odd things might be happening. Like seeing Sunshine Through The Rain that seems to have sped up an old Magic Hour tune and taken some of the acid drenching out of it almost like it's been rinsed in the rain. Is that a Nightmare well of course not as Juxta mare unfolds across the widescreen of the listeners mind enveloping them in the soundscape.

Then about halfway through on March Hares they seem to have some of the sort of repeating motif you might find on some of Band Of Susans instrumentals. Either way this is an album of well-constructed sonic architecture and soundscapes of the sort that you sometimes hear in the closing five minutes or so of any number of American procedural tv series as they finally find out who did the murder on Cold Case or as the killer looks back on what might have been on CSI as if this is the real Ice Age a tune that owes a small debt to the Joy Division song it shares a name with but only a very small debt as this conjures up feelings of longing for what's been lost.

The album closer Thinking Back seems perfect for driving late at night through a forest in the pouring rain hoping for some respite and that you won't have to drive in this rain much longer.

Either way this is an intriguing album.

http://www.whisperinandhollerin.co.uk/reviews/review.asp?id=12814

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Here Comes The Flood

February 22, 2016 | Hans Werksman

When their singer left the band in 2009 Deardarkhead gave up on finding a replacement pretty quickly and reinvented themselves as an instrumental post-tock shoegaze trio. Based in Atlantic City, a place of ill repute whose glory days are long gone, they let the music do the talking with the song titles hinting at what particular meaning lies hidden beneath the washes of guitar, bass and drums.

Their latest album Strange Weather was inspired by Lewis Caroll (March Hares) and meteorological phenomena (Sunshine Through The Rain, Ice Age. Intense and captivating music with multi-layered textures unfolding slowly. Sometimes lyrics can get in the way of the flow of a track and Deardarkhead have managed to write poetry without using actual words. Not bad for a band who named themselves after a line from the Samuel Ferguson poem Cean Dubh Dilis.

http://werksman.blogspot.nl/2016/02/deardarkhead-stranger-weather.html