It was a revelation trickled down from melancholic heaven when former bassist of The Smiths Andy Rourke, and front woman of The Cranberries Dolores O’Riordan announced they’re newly formed band D.A.R.K. with New York-based DJ/producer Olé Koretsky. Their new single ‘Loosen the Noose’ was freshly dropped a few days ago, and has left us shaking in our boots… literally.
With both Rourke and O’Riordan’s major die-hard fan base from their previous works, all hopeless romantics, disillusioned despondents, and musical recluses are do-eyed at the starry new collaboration. ‘Curvy’ marked the debut single from D.A.R.K. last month, and unlike it’s more upbeat predecessor, ‘Loosen The Noose’ is far more moody tune.
As you would expect from a combined Cranberries/Smiths project, this song is as unnerving and dark as it is despondently beautiful. The song opens with O’Riordan making what can only be described as creepy mouth sounds amidst an eerie backdrop of impish synths- it will have you feeling disconcerted from the start, like you’re walking through a dangerous mythical forest without a lightsaber.
Lyrically, the song looks at the classic object of ‘boy falls in love with girl’ however in true Rourke/O’Riordan fashion, the creepy twist is that he is stalking a woman who is oblivious to his dark passions. The driving mellow beat kicks in with O’Riordan’s first lyric: “Listen, did you hear that sound? Somebody’s walking close behind me, I hear their footsteps on the ground” which hints at the unsettling idea from the beginning.
The story is told from the couple in questions perspectives through the sequential vocals of Rourke and O’Riordan. D.A.R.K. has created some captivating juxtapositions with lines from O’Riordan such as “So I took his cue, I start to walk away, but he keeps crawling up behind me, like the voice of yesterday”, with lines from Rourke: “One last time, no boy pretending anymore, I found true love, six feet below”.
The protagonist that is in a love dangerously deep offers us honest proclamations that are unnerving to say the least; perhaps the most concerning being “Just one time, I want to hold your soul in my bare hands, and squeeze”. The intensity of this kind of love is creepy and suffocating, hence appropriate the title of ‘Loosen the Noose’.
There is a real Nick Cave vibe about the whole shebang that the trio has creatively conjured up, that draws on the characteristic sounds of The Cranberries smooth and often eerie echoes with The Smiths morbid, beautiful melodies. The acoustics remain serving a mellow and driving rhythm in the background to perfectly cushion the profound vocals, however there is a beautifully tranquil moment between music and vocals that occurs whenever “loosen the noose up” is chanted, that will leave you trying to find some way of including it into your everyday vocabulary.
D.A.R.K.’s debut album Science Agrees is due to arrive on May 27th through Cooking Vinyl, so keep your ears peeled for some more satisfyingly weird and wonderful musical stylings.