poppedmusic

Darlia

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Arts Club, Liverpool 23rd October.

That pesky song that invaded my brain throughout Leeds festival drove me to ensure I came to see Darlia when they hit town. That and the sneak peek  had of them when they played the same venue for Liverpool Sound City in May.

This was an odd gig though. That’s not to say that Darlia didn’t play well or that the crowd didn’t enjoy it. It was just odd. After all it was freshers week and a dark and drizzly Monday night.  A combination of things that don’t really scream “sold out show” yet the 100 or so people that turned up to the venue weren’t all there for the same reasons. There were fan girls on the front row, groups of young men running riot in the middle then there were the curious, who stood around the edges. This is, you’re probably thinking, exactly the kind of mix you get at all gigs. And you’d be right of course, however, perhaps because there wasn’t quite enough people, it all felt a little disjointed. People did a short and swift round of applause after each track but it was all just a little too polite. Throw in the overly lit stage, where the band had no atmosphere and no where to hide- it was all just a little bit…. odd. As it goes, I don’t mind a little bit of odd.

So bubblegum grunge is back and Darlia have no issue at taking that and wiping the floor with every ounce of gusto they have. They didn’t seem to care that the audience was a bit disjointed or the lights too bright. They still put on the same show they did when the room was full and sweating back in May. This time though more people knew a few more songs.

copyright: popped music

It’s a hard slug to put on a show and ask people to come when you only have a fist full of singles to your name and the likes of Radio 1 are playing you loud and clear. That’s a hell of an expectation to deal with. While the Liverpool show may not have sold out, they had certainly won their crowd over by the end. Even brand new tracks, such as I’ve Never Been To Ohio, got people moving. The biggest song of the night was left for last and we all did our best to take the roof off the loft of the Arts Club  when they dove into that ever so catchy Queen Of Hearts.

Darlia is a band who will keep moving, who will keep gaining support city to city night after night. Their sound may not be anything new, and they know that as much as we do, but it doesn’t stop them. It won’t stop them. I’d like to see them not sell out a show twice the size in this city after their debut album is released. I just hope they trust that the people of Liverpool will come out in force next time – I’m sure they will, for they’ll be well rewarded with one hell of a show when they do.

Darlia played:

Copyright: Popped Music

Napalm
Pandemonium
I’ve Never Been To Ohio
Candyman
Stars Are Aligned
Vanilla
Game You Wanna Play
Dear Diary
Queen Of Hearts