Darren Gaines & the Key Party - My Blacks Don't Match

When I reviewed the debut release by New York's The Key Party, I referred to it as a slice of Tom Waits-ian lo-fi gutter rock. Using such a singular description for the sophomore release by the newly renamed Darren Gaines and the Key Party, is not going to be as easy a task since the band has stepped up the variety this time and allowed this project to be more of a collaborative affair. Recruiting the vocal and vibraslap talents of Sara Syms was a sweet move, as she adds a sultry layer of sludge to the soundtrack, which dives head first into a musical mud sluice leading to a bluesy underworld that is as endearing as it is frightening. While listening to this album, you get the sense that Darren Gaines was raised in a world where you'd be happy to keep a family of sewer rats as pets, or even friends. Despite the dark and dingy analogies that I've been overusing in this opening paragraph, the fact is that, simply put, I love this album.

After a brief acoustic intro, opening track Nightshade, busts forth with a blasting barrage of brass, accompanied by Gaines' delicious yelp. It does a very good job at setting the tone for the album, as it straddles a line between smoky urban blues and New Orleans funk. Songs like Hey Napoleon and The Litterati follow along in a similar mold, with the latter boasting a significantly fuller sound than when I first heard it in its demo form. Good Old Days (Wash Away) has more of a light hearted vibe to it, even if the lyrics are still somewhat dark in tone. Still the song does boast a real celebratory feel, not unlike John Hiatt's Slow Turning, although once again, the horn section gives it that extra bit of oomph. A couple of the songs showcase a different side of Gaines' vocal abilities, most notably in Tripped Down Memory, which describes a chance meeting with the past; and on album closer Speechless, where his vocals display a warbly bassy-ness that actually benefits from a couple of bum notes, allowing an appealing vulnerability to shine through. I have to admit, that I'm a bit curious as to how that last song would have sounded with the production toned down just a bit, having only the vocal and guitar speak alone. Still, it's a captivating way to end the album. And that very approach is showcased earlier on with Snowdrift, a beautifully engaging song that causes me to hit the repeat button whenever it's played.

My Blacks Don't Match is a significant step up from Hit Or Miss, which was a good album, but it perhaps overstayed its welcome by a few songs. This one feels just right, length wise, and Darren's desire to step out of his comfort zone on a couple of the tracks is an inspired move that I hope he continues to cultivate on future releases.

My Blacks Don't Match will be released officially in March, but a downloadable version is available now at digstation.com.

Above photo by Alison Grippo

Myspace: Darren Gaines and the Key Party

Other stuff:

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