Melbourne’s Dardanelles embark on a mysterious journey of macabre, a Lost Boys twist on new-rave and post-punk. Beginning with a surprise all-instrumental opener,
Mirror Mirror pricks up the ears more than once. Take ‘Natural Selection’ for example, which changes gears dramatically from breathy “ooohs” to violent guitar string tugging breaks and then, chk-unk, back into a smooth groove again.
Interestingly, no matter how heated the instruments are, laid-back vocals float undisturbed, creating an endearing duality that works. You might say this album is light with energy and, best of all, a cohesive story is maintained by elegant production choices, including blending the lingering notes and effects of one track into the next as though it was all recorded in a single session. And in this day and age, maximum respect to an album that goes against the iTunes friendly grain of being a collection of singles designed for $0.99 download. That said, if singles are your thing, ‘Footsteps’ is a clear early winner to get you going.
Surprises do taper off a little towards the end and yes, there are a lot of ‘sounds-like’ moments in here, but all in all this is a fine end-product that they make it their own and deserves to propel Dardanelles into the Aussie elite.