Darlington – Sex

I’m always skeptical about solo bands. Because, in reality, unless they are solely guitar than they can’t be solo on the road – they would need a backing band. So why not make a band? I guess they go solo so that they can write all the material and play all the instruments on the recordings, which can be difficult sometimes, but they still go out and do that. And that’s the first thing that annoys me about Darlington, because while Christy Brigitte Darlington may have written and arranged all the songs, he only plays the guitar and sings on the record. He then goes and hires people to play all the bass and drums on the recording, when he really should play it all himself.

But in the long run, little technicalities like that shouldn’t really matter if the music is good, but sadly, Darlington fails in that area too. Because really, the 16 tracks on Sex are not strong enough to keep someone wanting to her more. The 16 songs about girls, cars, sex, and sex with girls in cars become repetitive and boring after the first few tracks. There’s only so many ways you can describe teenage infatuation before you start repeating yourself. The music is simple, slightly catchy 3-chord punk that could’ve fit nicely in the punk breakout of the seventies if it was speed up a bit and played with more intensity. The way it is now makes it seem like an afterthought, no real intensity or sincerity. And then there’s Darlington‘s generic vocals too. They are your average boyish vocals layered on top of most of the mainstream pop-punk bands, and while some young teenagers will eat it up instantly, it doesn’t last long.

Probably the best thing about the album is the length, because while it’s 16 songs its only 35 minutes long – so you don’t have to sit through it for long. And really, if Darlington are, as the label calls him, “Texas’ # 1 punk rocker”, than I feel sorry for Texas.