One of the best things I've had the pleasure to review for Sepiachord was "Shelter" by Demonika and the Darklings*.
Now it appears the band is morphing into just The Darklings.
You can hear the change on this EP. The electronic fill is gone from the songs, as is the studio polish to the production. What we're left with is three more raw, more rock tracks from the band.
They're still dark and sexy, but now more gothic rock/pop and less (capital G) Goth. But most importantly they're still great performers and musicians. My favorite components are still here: Devlyn's wonderful violin work remains the stitch that holds the music together and Demonika/Abhayada still has an incredible voice.
What's striking is that on the first track, "Worry Doll", Demonika tries her hand and some angered shouting. I don't think this is her strong suit, but the disharmony does fit this number.
"Morphine Dreams" is the strongest track on this collection, it flows beautifully and has a nice groove, I just wish that the bass was a bit more pronounced.
Actually that's my only complaint about this EP, I love the Dv8's bass work and it seems a bit buried on these songs.
So, in brief: stripped down and raw is good but more pronounced bass would give The Darkings more of a punch.--
