While many artists take it upon themselves to hold up a mirror to difficulties of the contemporary moment, others work within a different philosophy. Take Brooklyn‘s Dark Tea, who, according to the notes from their forthcoming record, “create an escape from the din and set up camp until the sun comes up.” The idea is simple, rather than facing up to the immediacy of the world, turn away from it via fiction. Create new worlds to exist within. Find familiarity in the beats of classic story forms in order to counteract the chaotic present.
The latest Dark Tea album, a self-titled full-length out this spring on Fire Talk Records, follows the archetypal hero’s journey. Taking its inspiration from neo-noir, the record allows the listener to follow a protagonist “from the abyss all the way through atonement,” painting a vividly grimy world of danger and intrigue. But there is nostalgia too, a kind of second layer to the record, a self-aware retro quality that calls upon the stylish noir aesthetic as the antithesis of the mundane modern world.
The latest single to be unveiled from the record, ‘Deanna’, is a track rooted in this nostalgic outlook. “Walking through the backyard of your mind,” sings lead Gary Canino. “Were you reaching through the shed to take time / Back to the rear view life / All my memories are entwined with that house.” The sense of loss and longing is balanced with an easy-going confidence. The bright rhythm supported by a piano interlude and lush backing vocals, giving everything a classic polish and style.
The song’s position in the narrative arc of the record is supported by the LA-centred video, co-directed by Canino and Current Joy’s Nick Rattigan. “We wanted to create a complete work of fiction,” Canino says. “[Nick Rattigan] and I were inspired by LA noir and the concept that Los Angeles itself is the dark heart of crime writing and film. For us, nothing really tops Michael Mann’s Heat or William Friedkin’s To Live and Die in LA. We shot the film in one smoggy Los Angeles night with bandmates, Jacob Rubeck and Noah Kohll.” Check it out below:
Dark Tea will be released via Fire Talk Records on the 30th April and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.
