{"id":5215,"date":"2019-05-06T05:00:19","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=5215"},"modified":"2019-04-29T22:30:01","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T22:30:01","slug":"the-darts-i-like-you-but-not-like-that-alternative-tentacles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/?p=5215","title":{"rendered":"The Darts \u2018I Like You But Not Like That\u2019 (Alternative Tentacles)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Darts simply don\u2019t live in this world. Their world is this magical place where the nuggets of the 60\u2019s took over the world in every way, shape, and form. Walls are seemingly made of red velvet, and gold accents adorn everything. When you get closer though, you start to see and feel the grit. On their third album, the Darts further their garage rocking sound with some new shades and colors that at times have me thinking of Bratmobile and, at other times, have me thinking back to Nicole Laurenne (vocals, organ) and Christina Nunez\u2019 (bass, vocals) old band the Love Me Nots. If you have enjoyed the Darts so far, this album is a must buy, and, if you don\u2019t know the Darts, start your education here. Rikki Styxx continues to pound the drums while Meliza Jackson makes her studio debut on guitar with both of them also providing backing vocals.<\/p>\n

\u2018Breakup Makeup\u2019 starts things with a frantic beat and Nicole\u2019s vocals getting plenty of room in the mix in the verses. The vocal pattern in the chorus and music remind me of \u2018Time Warp\u2019 from \u2018The Rocky Horror Picture Show\u2019 if it had been played by the Dwarves. The shouted backing vocals recall the bands that all seemed to be signed to Estrus Records back in the day. The pogo beat of \u2018My Way\u2019 demonstrates another of Laurenne\u2019s vocal strengths as she sounds like she has been doing this since she came into the world. This at times has an almost hip hop feel through the verses with Jackson\u2019s guitar cutting through the mix perfectly as Nunez and Styxx are perfectly in unison together. The band slow the tempo with the groovy mid paced \u2018Don\u2019t Hold My Hand\u2019 sounding like it should have been a hit from 50 plus years ago, except it brings in some additional noise and power. The backing vocals under the fuzz come straight from the school of the Ronettes. This is superb, timeless songwriting by all involved.<\/p>\n

With the title track inspired by a back and forth with a person who messaged the band more than a time or two, the rhythm section lays down a beat that still catches me off guard with every listen.\u00a0 The music takes on a suitable creepiness feel with the spoken word type vocals adding even more texture to the album. \u00a0The chorus features a mix of seductive and disgusted vocals which really creates a cool back and forth. This would be the scene where this person gets thrown back out of the Darts world because he simply couldn\u2019t handle it. A riff by Jackson opens up \u2018Break Your Mind\u2019 which actually reminds me of the Love Me Nots\u2019 debut from back in the day. The organ sounds great here as it overlays with the rhythm section.\u00a0 Something that should be noted is you cannot sit still when this album is playing. Even as I sit typing, my feet are moving with the beat, and I keep wanting to air guitar the riff here. Wrapping up the first half of the album is the slower \u2018Love You to Death\u2019 where Nunez\u2019 bass is from another dimension. The beginning of the song actually makes me think of grunge legends Green River. The drums carry some additional power in the mix, and the vocal effects create a very different sound.\u00a0 Coming in at close to 5 minutes, this is an epic in the world of the Darts.<\/p>\n

Side 2 finds the band continuing their sonic mastery. \u2018New Boy\u2019 gets us back to bouncing off the world with the organ and guitar cutting back and forth over the rhythm section. They waste no time here as they plant an infectious chorus in our heads. The guitar and organ each get their own moments to shine before they throw the chorus at us again for good measure. \u2018Thin Line\u2019 starts with Styxx laying down the gauntlet as the band barrels through a nuggets rocker with another sticky chorus that demands replays. The break for the organ here works perfectly. Turning down the dark street you know you should have avoided brings us to the cool \u2018Phantom.\u2019 I love Laurenne\u2019s vocals here as her voice sits just under the top of the mix. It rises in the mix at the chorus but so does everything else which just makes it even more powerful. In an album of favorites, this one currently holds the title for me. It has a groove that stirs the soul and makes us feel alive.<\/p>\n

The defiant \u2018I Ain\u2019t Crying\u2019 punches us in the face with the beat threatening to explode right out of the speakers. Nunez\u2019 bass adds a lot of oomph here with the breakdown in the song giving everyone a second to shine even further. \u2018Japan\u2019 opens up with a classic nod to the Far East in terms of the beat, and this song simply needs to be on the radio at maximum volume. In that world of the Darts I mentioned, this is the kind of radio they get every day instead of the manufactured crap we get peddled at us on a daily basis that has no heart and soul. This chorus might as well be an immediate transfer to your long-term memory. Closing the album with \u2018Where\u2019s the Rain,\u2019 the band follow a similar pattern to the first half with a slower number that rumbles through the speaker, but this song has an entirely separate feel\u00a0 in every other way.<\/p>\n

No runts in this litter, no weak links\u2026 This is a high-quality album that takes doses of the Nuggets era and yanks them forward with bits and pieces from what has come before to create another great album in the discography of the Darts. This world should belong to them. We would all be better off if it did. Check back in December to see just how I rate this one, but it stands tall as an album of the year contender for me.<\/p>\n

Buy I Like You But Not Like That Here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

Website<\/a><\/p>\n

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Author: Gerald Stansbury<\/p>\n

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The Darts simply don\u2019t live in this world. Their world is this magical place where the nuggets of the 60\u2019s took over the world in every way, shape, and form. Walls are seemingly made of red velvet, and gold accents adorn everything. When you get closer though, you start to see and feel the grit. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[1725,1727,1710,1681,1726],"class_list":["post-5215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-image","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-i-like-you-but-not-like-that","tag-alternative-tentacles","tag-rpm-online","tag-rpmnews1","tag-the-darts","post_format-post-format-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5215","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5215"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5218,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5215\/revisions\/5218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rpmonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}