I wish I could say that I was cool enough to have had Darker Days, the debut from North Carolina's The Connells in 1987, when it was released here by TVT Records, but I wasn't. I was, however, fortunate enough to have a friend (site contributor Stan Cierlitsky) who worked at a record store near the one I worked at in early 1988 who prompted me to get Boylan Heights. I did. And a few months later I was working with another friend (site contributor Donzig) at another record store where he played that album in heavy rotation in the shop.
But what of Darker Days, the group's official debut and the release that didn't get quite as much hype as the second album proper? I'm happy to report that it sounds great still, and that it's now up on Bandcamp for purchase. For those who enjoyed the stately alt-rock of Boylan Heights, it might be a surprise to hear now the more far-ranging charms of Darker Days.
With production from Don Dixon, among others, Darker Days crackles with purpose still. Poised somewhere between R.E.M. circa side two of Reckoning and Wire Train before they went for a bigger sound, The Connells here effortlessly deliver hooks, ringing chords, and a smattering of mystery to this whole project. "Hats Off", the opener, pops, as does "Seven", another gem. With "Unspoken Words", The Connells add something to the alt-rock here that was as distinctive in 1986 as it is now.
What made The Connells so good was that their material was not just a variation of power pop, but instead a faintly mysterious and complex cousin to some early Let's Active and R.E.M. offerings. The Connells never necessarily favored mystery, but they held something back even as the hooks rang out that made a listener feel then this was something unique, unequaled in American underground music in that era. "Brighter Worlds" takes that and adds a vibe to things that's clearly beholden to British post-punk, with flashes of the chimes of DIY indie from England heard here. It's that snap that allows Darker Days to still sound like a classic record, one with layers of meaning, and one which continues to charm even more than three decades later.
Darker Days is up on Bandcamp today.
More details on The Connells via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Online, credit to the original photographer]