New York-based D’Arcy might’ve been one of the openers for She Wants Revenge last night at the Fonda Theatre, but from the moment she started conjuring up her dark-pop soundscapes the night was hers. Although she arrived with a handful of recent singles and a debut EP that dropped just last year, D’Arcy decided to give the crowd a run-through of new songs lifted right from her hotly anticipated first album.
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Which included her opening track “Fantasy,” an ethereally haunting piece of mind-numbing electronica that focused all the eyes and ears in the Fonda on the lone artist. The first half of her set was actually a whirlwind of new material, which included songs like “Delirium,” “Mother,” and “Retrograde.” Across every single one of these tracks, D’Arcy flaunted her extensive sonic repertoire: where synths shriek alongside heady bass before dropping into cavernous silence, only to then be summoned back to life by the singer’s droning chants.
But new songs weren’t the only surprise D’Arcy had in store for fans. Not only did she perform her cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark,” which she’s transformed into a moody slow-burn of still goosebumps-inducing magic, but she was also joined onstage by Justin Warfield of She Wants Revenge to sing it. She then dove into one of last year’s singles “Lover,” which will most likely be on her debut album, a glitchy and distorted love song filled with pained devotion. While her “Daning in the Dark” cover counterpart “Kill For Love” served as a smoldering lead-in to her finale with new track “Follow Me.”
There is something so innately cinematic about D’Arcy and her music that reveals itself even more so live. It swallows you up and buries you underneath dark-pop tones and textures until it reaches a fever pitch — only to be released by the spellbinding trill of D’Arcy’s vocals. And for all their midnight sonics and melancholy dripping wails, her lyricism always manages to find some hope or rallying cry to remain soulfully kinetic.
Visit D’Arcy on their website, Twitter, and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
Words by Steven Ward
