Cambiata side project Daro go more alt-country than alt-rock
By SAM PFEIFLE | February 6, 2008
From the band
I think more than anything this album is just a collection of songs dating from March until June of 2007. I guess that seems dry of me to say, but truly, they are nothing more than just those ideas and feelings that I needed to get out of my head during that time. Most of the time when I write, it’s a painstaking effort to try and hit the hammer right on the head with every note, rhythm, chord, dynamic, or other decision of the composing process. I suppose this time around it was nice to let go of that “beforehand” notion and try for a more intuitive approach. What felt right at the time of recording we left on tape. It’s just some simple fucking rock songs about letting go. Daro | Released by Daro | with Dominic and the Lucid | at the Empire, in Portland | Feb 7 |
Just when you thought it was safe to slag all those pesky young people with a reputation for laziness, here comes Sean Morin, who’ll release a self-titled full-length effort from his side project, Daro, just five days after playing keyboards at the release gigs (one in Boston, one at the Station) for Cambiata’s much-anticipated To Heal EP. Oh, and at this upcoming gig he’ll be doing double duty, also playing with Dominic and the Lucid, who with Cult Maze fill out the bill. (Just as a side note, you’re going to have a hard time finding a better three-band local bill than DatL, Cult Maze, and Daro if you’re an indie fan. That’s pretty terrific.)Morin’s also good evidence of why we need some kind of nurturing incubator for developing musicians. To look at his current career path, from the hardcore Barium to a Cambiata that are getting less heavy and more thoughtful every day to the alt-country/alt-pop of Daro, is to watch what happens when musicians keep at it, picking up influences like chronic conditions and sloughing off old skins that were just holding them back. How many musicians lack Morin’s drive, and give up and get day jobs before reaching maturity? Too many.
We’re lucky here that Morin found a partner in Noah Cole, who plays drums throughout the album, to co-write songs and help with the recording process, and a willing bassist in Tyler Quist. In a band like Cambiata, with five songwriters (each penning a tune on the new EP), it’s not surprising there wasn’t room for this output of songs Morin has created, most of them fairly acoustic and many of them slower than your average rock-radio hit. If Cambiata are ’CYY, Daro are ’CLZ, which shows some nice versatility and in the long run may open more opportunity for Morin.
On February 7, Daro will do their best to recreate the sounds you hear on the debut album with a band that does not include Cole (he’s moved along); does include Quist (playing keyboard); and also features Stu Mahan, local bass player for hire (seriously, he’s played with everyone from the Awesome to jazzman Tim O’Dell to the I-Rates); DJ Moore on drums; and, since Morin can only play one guitar at a time, Joel Amsden on electric guitar. The challenge will be to capture the warm guitar pop, the breezy, pillow-soft organs, and the breathy urgency featured on the album.
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