The Darts Boomerang

The Darts return with more of their signature garage/psyche rock punk on Boomerang, their tightest and most rollicking set of songs yet. 

The Darts aren’t the first band to use the inspiration of being on the road to write, record, and release new material. Few bands actually pull it off though, instead deciding to go with the obligatory live album. During what can only be described as a triumphant tour of Europe (just check any of the pictures shared on their social media accounts documenting the shows) Nichole Laurenne (vocal and Farfisa), Christina Nunez (bass and backup vocals), Meliza Jackson (guitars), and Mary Rose Gonzales (drums), instead assembled a collection of the best garage/surfer goth and adrenaline fueled, and deceptively insightful, tunes this side of the alt-retro-rock universe. With Boomerang, The Darts strengthen their right to being the darlings of garage rock radio such as SiriusXM’s Garage Rock Radio, and should be breaking beyond that well-carved niche soon. 

Although written during what was a raucously fun European tour, the album isn’t all about the nightly on-stage party the band was enjoying. Like most of The Darts’ music, it has a deeper, if not overtly obvious, seriousness to it. “This album is my manifesto about finding strength–the kind of strength it takes to do what you personally need to do to be peaceful and healthy. For me it meant cutting a lot of stuff out of my life, and that was really hard, but it also meant adding in a lot of stuff I never thought I’d see” states Nichole in the most recent press release from The Darts label, Alternative Tentacles Records (Butthole Surfers, Pitchshifter), headed by punk legend, and friend of the band, Jello Biafra. The album’s first single, “Pour Another,” is the musical and lyrical fruit of Nichole’s quest to be peaceful and healthy. The song is about Nichole’s letting go of the negative grip that alcohol abuse can inflict. As mentioned on The Speedie John Radio Show on the aforementioned SiriusXM’s Garage Rock Radio, the song is, in Nichole’s own words, about her “struggle with alcohol, which she has since moved beyond.” The song itself is a great way to lead off what should be a long string of singles from the new album. Being a bit of a slow burn for The Darts, it is nevertheless packed with plenty of Nichole’s signature Farfisa playing and Meliza’s surf/goth-tinged guitar lines, to go along with the smart and multilayered lyrical content. 

Oscillating between slower surf guitar-tinged burners like “Pour Another” and hard rock-leaning tracks like the excellent “Hell Yeah,” Boomerang slings its way through a wide range of psyche rock punk but, like its namesake, always returns, often in the same song, to what makes The Darts’ music such a unique experience. The Darts are, at heart, a tight-knit group of friends who play incredibly tight tunes grounded in the type of garage sound that proto-punks were making in the 60s, updated for the 21st Century. The band knows where its music is going because it knows where its progenitors have been. 

Every time I hear one of their songs, my mind’s eye wants to throw up replays of old episodes of Batman ‘66 and The Munsters, with their glorious retro colors and black and white shades on full display. Go-go booted dancers flanking Joey Ramone guest playing with the band on stage while Herman and Lily Munster lead a Monster Mash/Mosh on the dancefloor. “Liar” with its also hard rock leaning, but totally swinging 60s garage rock sound, is the song that the band is playing. The party rages on through several other tracks, but no one spikes the punch and everyone has a responsible good time. Tracks like “Dreaming Crazy,” along with “Night” –another standout track–are tunes I can envision being on Wednesday Adam’s playlist when she returns to Nevermore Academy for her sophomore year, as well as being a permanent resident of Biafra and other aging punks’ heavy rotation turntable stack. The Darts’ musical appeal truly is that wide. 

That wide appeal is captured brilliantly on Boomerang. It’s hard to believe that this is already The Darts’ fifth album. Nichole’s prolific songwriting appears to know no bounds, and it will be interesting to see what she and the band come up with on their next world tour, which is sure to be even more triumphant than their last.