ARTICLE: Shore Local Newsmagazine

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Thursday 19, 2026 | Doug Deutsch

Local rockers Deardarkhead releasing new album
‘The Pendulum Swings’ in A.C. Saturday

Tune In, Turn On 

Regular readers of this column know that we’ve always had a soft spot for local talent. There’s some terrific bands performing original music at the shore including Gutterdrunk, Twisted Livin’, Te Vista, Reckless Randy, senior statesmen rocker, Malcolm Tent, 1adam12 and more.

With that in mind, it’s a pleasure to write about a band called Deardarkhead.

Formed in 1988, DD’s sound incorporates guitar-driven shoegaze and dreampop, with post-punk and psychedelic influences. Last time we saw this indie rock trio, they performed a solid set at WLFR’s Anniversary Party in 2024.

“Our new 10-song album is called ‘The Pendulum Swings’ and we will be releasing it on CD, vinyl and digital through our own Fertile Crescent Records label later in 2026,” Robert Weiss, Deardarkhead’s drummer, told us in an email interview last week.

It was recorded at Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia with owners Brian McTear and Amy Morrissey, who have hosted recordings by countless artists including The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Sharon Van Etten and The Dead Milkmen.

The members of Deardarkhead are Kevin Harrington (guitar), Weiss (drums), and bassist James Malizia, who joined the group in 2024.

Deardarkhead has released five recordings since forming Fertile Crescent Records. Their music has also appeared on various indie compilations from the USA and Japan. Captured Tracks released a retrospective of their early material called “Oceanside: 1991-1993” as the second contribution to their “Shoegaze Archives” series at the end of 2011.

The band joined Saint Marie Records, a label specializing in shoegaze, dreampop, indiepop and electronic music, in 2015. Their first recording for the label, “Strange Weather,” was released in March 2016 and was critically lauded.

Local music fans have an opportunity to see the somewhat-reclusive band when they perform at Little Water Distillery, 807 Baltic Ave., Unit B (“enter from Lexington Avenue,” advises Weiss) in Atlantic City Saturday, Feb. 21. The distillery opens at 1 p.m., Le Onde Coal Fire Pizza Truck will be there at 5 p.m. and the show is at 7 p.m.

“It’s a free show and we will be performing 18 songs, including the majority of the new album, all of our last EP, plus a brand new song and much older material as well,” said Weiss, who is also a talented graphic designer.

“I recently helped out Malcolm Tent with some design work for his latest album (‘A Fade Worse Than Deaf’) at the request of Adam Berardo (1Adam12) who also plays with Malcolm on the recording with his sons Niko and Desi (Te Vista),” Weiss said. “I was happy to lend a hand, as I have known Malcolm a long time. He was very happy with it.”

More information on Deardarkhead can be found on Instagram, Facebook, X and at deardarkhead.com.

https://shorelocalnews.com/local-rockers-deardarkhead-releasing-new-album-the-pendulum-swings-in-a-c-saturday/

REVIEW: Strange Weather, Shore Local News

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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.