In the finest tradition of deathless rock’n’roll, ‘End Of The Party’ is an electrifying mix of the grit and the glitter, built on an infectious glam-rock groove interspersed with sparks of searing guitar. Atop this grungy, Ziggy-like bedrock, Jen Demaris and Nina Lovelace’s crystalline voices ring out a catchy and powerful melody, which, rather than being concerned with the closing stages of a heady night out, is in fact about Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolution of 2014: “This Is The Time And These Are The Places/Where You Must Bend To Changing Faces”. With touches of The Runaways here, Patti Smith there, ‘End Of The Party’’s absorbing progression takes in a pristine solo by guitarist Rob McCabe before climaxing in a rush of vocal harmonies, a fitting final refrain of what is a gleeful testament to the scope of Darla And The Blonde’s ambition.
It’s hard to take something as raw as the blues and make it sparkle with unadulterated sheen but on Where the Bees Come to Die, Boy From the Crowd manages rather effortlessly over a mere handful of tracks. The sound never strays far from its initial source leaving the sting of the scraped soulful rock throbbing throughout the EP. Rather they find their corner in the garage, stomp it to their liking, then settle in for the long haul.