Album Review: Darko - Darko EP

Hailing from quaint Guilford, melodic hardcore outfit Darko are nothing close to quaint. They are of the hard, fast and loud belief, a belief that many can definitely relate to. The quintet released their powerful self-titled EP at the end of March, and what a beast they've let loose.

Opener "We Are Here" punches out with a lot of energy and showcasing song-writing not unlike The Lawrence Arms with hard-lived vocals scraping through melodic guitar elements and closes in a distinctively A Wilhelm Scream fashion, which is in no way a bad thing. Second track "Knives" reveals more of the band's technique and creative ideas with interesting weaving guitar interplay and a good set of decent ideas. Melodic punk rock 101 before breaking into a blasting bridge section that'll keep you alert.

A Wilhelm Scream and the likes of Strung Out swiftly come to mind with "Yet We Breathe", a powerful technique-packed punch that continues in showing the band excelling in bridge sections and "Delgado" does little to disprove it.

Closers "Blink" and "Paper Mirrors" do feel a bit uninspired when compared to band's solid back four and wouldn't have felt out of place as b-sides with simple punk rock progressions and aggression. However, overall Darko make a distinctive impression, one that fans of fast-paced, tight melodic hardcore (and notably A Wilhelm Scream) may have found a british band to follow. With the recent comeback of punk rock's many subgenres, Darko fill in one of British Punk's emptier gaps. And for that, we must be thankful.

3.5/5

'Darko EP' by Darko is available now.

Darko BigCartel Store.

Darko on MySpace and Facebook.

James Berclaz-Lewi