This is an unlikely pairing. Office Of Future Plans, from DC, are one of the most respected yet lately absent outfits in indie rock, coming out the ashes of legendary bands like Kerosene 454, Jawbox, and The Pauses. Their music is highly intricate, moody and the kind of stuff that post-punk fans drool over.
Daria, on the other hand, resides in France and is quite obscure on this side of the pond. Though they’ve been around for over a decade, playing their charged brand of rock that has influences as dark as The Jesus Lizard or as melodic as any number of driving punk bands, most of us are in the dark about them.
The Office Of Future Plans side has their first new song in awhile, the bass heavy, “Solipsist.” It’s thankfully what you’d expect from Robbins and company, a great balance of power and melody with extremely precise instrumentation and Robbins’ inimitable vocals. They follow this with a cover of Daria’s “The English Cloud,” a dynamic tune that starts out sparse with just gentle guitars matched with Robbins’ light singing, but quickly bursts into louder, beautiful post-punk that parallels the best work he did in Jawbox. Their last contribution here is a Rifle Sport cover, “24 Doors.” This is the most abrasive they get, showcasing a more jagged, propulsive version of Office Of Future Plans but still retaining a keen sense of melody.
The Daria side leads off with the original “As The Dust Settles,” which is a fast rocker with infectious harmonies and a very pleasing blend of punk, rock, and alt-rock. It’s a great song that clearly lets the listener know that they are holding their own against their esteemed peers on this slab of wax. Their first cover is a reworking of Office Of Future Plans’ “Dumb It Down,” and Daria adds a louder more charged slant on this fantastic track. Their second cover is the highlight here, a reworking of Leatherface’s “I Want The Moon.” Usually when Leatherface is covered it’s a valiant effort but really, you just can’t touch the classics. This, however, is one of the best Leatherface interpretations in recent history as they match the intensity of the original and hearing it sung minus the Lemmy-like throatiness of the original is a real treat.
Most people are going to pick this up for the Office Of Future Plans side, but I think this is going to make Daria a lot of new fans, as their side is equally as radiant. Record collector types need to jump on this quick – the vinyl is selling out fast.
