Actual pyramids are bottom-heavy, just like Brightest Darkest Day, the debut from a duo made up of vocalist Drea Smith and OK Go’s Tim Nordwind. The two concoct a range of sonic textures which sometimes captivate and other times get lost in the fray. Album closer “Nothing I Can Say” staggers under a feedback loop as dreary as a rainy day in Manchester. About half the album is bogged down in these kinds of post-punk genuflections—a pity, because Smith’s voice smoldered in the less forbidding climate of 2011’s Human Beings, the band’s poppy EP. The fact that the EP’s “Don’t Go” made the cut though, makes up for every other misstep. It’s as sweet as a Ring Pop, and as Smith shifts into the jangly chorus, we depart the narrow realm of moody atmospherics for one of genuine emotion: still dark, but ascendant.
April 11, 2013 — Kung Fu Necktie in Philadelphia, PA
April 15, 2013 — La Flèche d’Or in Paris, France
April 16, 2013 — Silencio Club in Paris, France
April 17, 2013 — Shacklewell Arms in London, United Kingdom
April 19, 2013 — KOKO Camden in London, United Kingdom
May 2, 2013 — The Satellite in Los Angeles, CA
May 7, 2013 — Brick and Mortar Music Hall in San Francisco, CA [FREE SHOW]
May 11, 2013 — Bar Pink in San Diego, CA
Pyyramids | Brightest Darkest Day, $7.99, pyyramids.com
By Rich Bellis
This review appears in the Apr/May 2013 issue of BUST Magazine with cover girl Grimes. Subscribe now.
