On his debut release, Montreal-based James Parm seems to be attempting to confront some serious demons in his head. This is evident not only in the abstruse song compositions and pained vocals, but also in the jumble of influences dictating the music, as if Parm is ensuring that every detail of the feelings that haunt him is vividly expressed.<\/p>\n
As a result, Oh My Darling <\/i>is a genre-defying album. It\u2019s like a colorful nightmare that can be intimidating but is also satisfyingly cathartic, if one braves to look it in the eye and face it head-on.<\/p>\n
Although the disc is pretty obviously dark all around, the first half does a great job keeping the songs tight and very accessible, albeit keeping the album\u2019s general atmosphere very much alive. The opening number \u201cDead Meat\u201d is like a progressive rock track, starting off gently in a \u201860s folk-influenced way and then intensifying as it advances. This is the most exciting cut on the record.<\/p>\n
The following two tracks, \u201cI Know I Know I Know\u201d and \u201cDying To Let You Go,\u201d are fantastic no-nonsense guitar-rock numbers, influenced by \u201890s modern rock music with a good mix of edgy guitars and melodiousness in a hard to resist package.<\/p>\n
The second half is clearly the eccentric side, beginning with \u201cUR Dark,\u201d which has a weird mix of EDM synthesizers and guitars, and ending with out-of-control jazzy drumming and cacophonous saxophones. Parm\u2019s pain is most apparent on the bonus track \u201c1M,\u201d which is somewhat of an acquired taste, with its downer pianos and totally \u201cinebriated\u201d apathetic singing, which oozes sorrow.<\/p>\n
The album\u2019s longest cut \u201cRe Arrange\u201d is the weirdest, not only because of the length (over seven minutes), but also the reason for its length. Starting off slow and somber with gentle electronic beats and softly played guitars, its last few minutes are chaotic with droning music where everything\u2019s a mindless blur.<\/p>\n
Oh My Darling<\/i> has an interesting backstory, involving loss and tragedy in Parm\u2019s personal life, which explains the grit and torment in the album. But one doesn\u2019t need a story to identify with the record\u2019s manner and mood, because it is so genuine. The expression of Parm\u2019s headspace might sound messy and unhinged at times, but it is nevertheless rewarding \u2013 that is, if one is willing to go along with his strange, cathartic process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":33814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[10376],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-45635","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-james-parm","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45635","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45635"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/45635\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=45635"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=45635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}