Darko – Never Coming Home/Chewbacca Defense 7″

Pardon the overused expression, but last year, UK Melodic hardcore punks Darko really knocked my socks off with their debut.  Their self-titled EP’s combination of technical precision and blistering speed easily filled that void felt by A Wilhelm Scream’s notable absence (the band reportedly buckling down in their bunker and working on a full length), and the six tracks really wet my appetite for a big punk-metal main course.  Fast forward to the first day of the New Year, and the band has released their follow up – but rather than the feast I had been yearning for, Darko’s next step takes the place of what might be termed a midnight snack.

But what a snack it is.  Coming in the form of a two-track digital 7”, Darko’s latest easily addresses my single biggest criticism with their past work: that they still needed to “perfect the art of the individual track.”  While not foolish enough to proclaim that such a comment shaped the band’s path in any way, their decision to follow up with a digital single almost feels like a personal challenge.  Here the quintet plunks down both tracks as a statement of personal growth and commitment without the comfort of a full track list to fall back upon.  But as both offerings plainly reveal, Darko is back, and has nothing to hide.

The 7” opens with the steadfast chunking of riffs in “Never Coming Home,” speeding up and flexing their technical chops for their metal-laced follow-up, “Chewbacca Defense.”  “Never Coming Home” easily serves as Darko’s strongest and most balanced outing to date.  The vocals sound gravely but crisp, their dual guitarists overlap and distance themselves from one another for a busy but focused onslaught – the rest of the band piping up for melodic backing harmonies responsible for an extra bit of oomph.  The drums propel each instant with an ironed but bumpy acceleration in the vein of legacy acts Strung Out, accenting each moment’s tight vocal flow.  The final bridge leads into a welcome break from some high notes with a low-lying solo, communicating a sense of grave distance, and making the final titled-repeating harmony pleasantly ominous.  “Chewbacca Defense” follows, with it’s presumably South Park-inspired title (I’ll admit, I resorted to looking it up on Urban Dictionary), marked by an increase in speed amplified by a proportionate boost in melodic structure.

The band has also taken advantage of the digital format, packaging the album with a couple of videos.  The first is a standard music video of the lead single, “Never Coming Home,” and is a nice addition, albeit doesn’t add much to the package.  However, the second comes as an acoustic rendition of the same track, and it’s shocking how well the gruff, metal informed framework translates into an unplugged setting.  This is an extremely intimate full band track, featuring what sounds like a mandolin (check out that solo!), and a whole whack of passion.  It would be a shame to hide this potential on b-sides and rare tracks, so let’s hope the band finds a way of integrating this into featured album songs down the line.

With their latest 7”, Darko hones their technical know-how, lathers on a new layer of production, and ups their songwriting game for a couple of tracks proving the UK quartet ready and long overdue for that full-length I’ve been anticipating.  At this point, I have no doubt that the band’s next move will be a big one; and as far as I’m concerned it can’t come soon enough.