originally printed in Flagpole Magazine, Athens, GA: http://flagpole.com/Music/RecRev/DarkDarkDark/2008-11-12/

The Snow Magic captured me immediately and has been twisting my mind for the last couple of hours, through two listens to the disc and a page of publicity information.

It seems the band formed out of life’s great plan for travelers: chance meeting. Accordionist/vocalist Nona Marie Invie met runaway banjo-playing raftsman Marshall LaCount sometime in 2006, and they began playing music as a way of “earning passage to New Orleans.” Eventually they met the cellist and upright bass player, and they played around the country for about two years, then went into the studio with Andrew Bird’s live drummer and musician/producer Robert Skoro.

The result of these studio sessions is an elegant, honest and captivating blend of Eastern European- and Appalachian-influenced folk with a touch of the cabaret: it swings as well as it broods. And if you even think a group of vagabond gypsies would dare begin a story without intending to add a piece of your soul to its folklore by the time of their closing remarks, then you, my friend, are crazier than I.

http://obscuresound.com/?p=2320

Within the packaging of their debut album, the Minneapolis-based Dark Dark Dark opted to include an eight-page booklet of photographs that featured a few pictures of the group in settings that proved more reminiscent of the late 19th century than the present, a stark contrast from the technologically dependent promo shots that most bands utilize today. Courtesy of photographer Timothy G. Piotrowski, the style most often indicated a nostalgic feel that was primarily attributed to his fascinating use of blended monochromatic and yellow shades. It also helped that the individuals featured in the photos usually had no visible expression on their faces whatsoever, alluding to the stereotypically deadpan stares that were so typical of the preceding eras. As evidenced by the sample exhibitions on Piotrowski’s site and this freely distributed shot of Dark Dark Dark, the photographer utilizes contemporary photography techniques to put a new spin on styles that may be deemed outdated. But this big question will likely loom in the minds of first-time listeners: What exactly prompted Dark Dark Dark to feature this photographic style so vividly in their first full-length release? When listening to their music, it should make sense. Like Piotrowski’s photography, the group takes advantage of all the resources that modern music technology has to offer them to create a stirringly nostalgic sound that becomes all their own.

A four-piece at its heart, Dark Dark Dark consists of an instrumental arsenal that is not typical of most indie-rock favorites. In addition to the rhythm section of bassist Todd Chandler and drummer Martin Dosh, the group maintains a heavy focus on cello, banjo, accordion, and piano. Jonathan Kaiser takes control of the cello, Marshall Lacount strums the banjo, and Nona Marie Invie makes use of her skills at piano and accordion. LaCount and Invie prove to be unconventionally resounding vocalists, serving as a double-edged sword with overlapping melodies that capitalize on an appealing formula that blends irresistible vocal harmonies with instrumentation that ranges anywhere in the mood palette from ominous to optimistic. In addition to Chandler, these three are the constant members, though Dosh contributed some excellent drumming to the entirety of the group’s engrossing debut, The Snow Magic. The name Martin Dosh may sound familiar to fans of percussively-based electronica; the Minnesota native has been regarded as a “superstar” prodigy for his innovative fusion of post-rock, electronica, and a consistently emphasized form of percussive involvement. Signed to the Anticon label in 2003, he has released four impressive solo albums, the most recent of which – Wolves and Wishes – was released in May of this year.

In addition to the collaborations from Dosh, the steady members of Dark Dark Dark remain just as interesting. Bassist Todd Chandler is directing and writing a film project by the name of “Flood”, featuring an accompanied score by his very own band. Subsequent to his work in another locally esteemed Minneapolis-based band by the name of Woodcat, LaCount worked on Dosh’s Wolves and Wishes on a handful of tracks, one being “Kit and Pearle” with Andrew Bird. Invie contributed vocals on that very same track, already acquainted with LaCount after the duo had formed Dark Dark Dark in 2006. Dark Dark Dark’s debut, Love You, Bye was an EP that was released in October 2007 and recorded by now-cellist Jonathan Kaiser. After Kaiser pushed his production duties aside to focus entirely on cello, the group handed the role of producer to Robert Skoro for their debut full-length, The Snow Magic. A new staple of the Minneapolis music scene due to his intuitive mixing abilities, Skoro also is an aspiring solo songwriter whose material can be checked out here. To map out an ambitiously stylistic album like The Snow Magic, I imagine that it may have looked initially intimidating to the young producer. Looking at the final result though, I may not have given him enough credit; Skoro did a fantastic job. The atmosphere that he and the band have instilled into this memorable debut is extremely commendable with a consistent vision that goes hand-in-hand with a batch of great songs.

As evidenced by their name alone, the fact that Dark Dark Dark’s stylistic territory treads on the gloomy side of things should not be surprising. Any other conceptual focus would be a mistake though, as the instrumentation glides cohesively with the content at hand. “Dig a Grave” features a gradually expanded melody that is accentuated by the simultaneous sounds of an accordion and cello. “Your ghost can stop and stay for a round, I would truly be living it up,“ LaCount sings, adding a bit of ironic humor to a song centered on the question of whether being haunted by a loved one is so bad after all. “Junk Bones” is a more melodically exuberant track that, once again, centers on the topics of ghostly spirits and death. Led by Invie’s creakily enjoyable vocals, it features an excellent chorus that sees a simultaneous collision of an accordion and reverbed keys. “All that rope you hang your neck with,” she repeats after the chorus, an effective measure of words considering these preceding lyrics: “Now you’re a ghost, you can find a home away from here; I’ve always wanted to find a home away from here.” The fact that the narrator expresses jealousy for the deceased because of her miserable state of existence is tragic, but the somewhat jovial melody makes the track fulfilling and undeniably interesting.

“Ashes”, the opening track on The Snow Magic, also serves as one of the most captivating efforts on the album. Dark Dark Dark once again takes a look at the effects of death – this time at the spreading of ashes – over a swirling instrumental accompaniment and pair of dual vocals that attribute nicely to the vigorous tenacity of the track with the ardent deliveries of LaCount and Invie. “I know you want to scatter my ashes, I know you want to spread them far and wide,” Invie sings. “Don’t scatter my ashes; I want to run by the seaside.” The content, of course, may be too dark and topically repetitive for some, but the musical style fits it well and anything else may have come across as pure desperation. In terms of dual harmonies, it would be difficult to argue against “The Benefit of the Doubt” to be one of the most impressive efforts in that regard. The instrumentation, led by a cello-accordion combo similar to “Dig a Grave”, is bare compared to some others, but it proves wildly effective as it places an emphasis on the vocal harmonies of LaCount and Invie. To be warned, The Snow Magic is not the most accessible or instantaneously gripping album out there, but successive listens will undoubtedly reward listeners in a way that few debuts will this year.

from the print edition of The Aquarian (no online version available, you’ll have to take our word for it!):

Dark Dark Dark
The Snow Magic
Blood Onion Records

It seems old world carnivals and New Orleans have met in Minnesota. With melodies reminiscent of Beirut’s European themes, Dark Dark Dark’s debut album is unharmonious and unpolished, but it still manages to work.

Starting with “Ashes,” a raucous circus song with accordion, cello and piano, a banjo then attacks the album and the sound becomes oppressive. Surprisingly, that song gives way to “Benefit Of The Doubt,” a simple acoustic song which is a relief to the ears. The remainder of the album alternates between that folk festival theme and light acoustic songs, though the transition isn’t quite seamless. Besides a random cymbal clash or snare drum, the lack of percussion was a smart choice, as it doesn’t clutter the already complex sound. Nona Marie Invie’s vocals, usually haunting, can border on off-pitch when she reaches the high octaves, taking away from the melody. More endearing is the other vocalist, Marshall LaCount’s, atonal voice.

Completely different from and hidden by the lighthearted music are the wonderfully written lyrics filled with death, loneliness and the Minnesota winter like in “Dig A Grave.” In other words, refer to the band name. Though seemingly abrasive at first, the album grows on you and the charming songs will get stuck in your head and have you humming along in no time.

In A Word: Dark
Grade: B
—by Francesca Baratta

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/64345/dark-dark-dark-the-snow-magic/

Dark Dark Dark is one of those band names that reviewers will take as a challenge. I can just imagine a guy at Rolling Stone getting an LP of Metallica’s Kill ‘Em All to review and going, “Metallica, eh? With a name like that, these guys better be pretty damn metal.” Similar scenarios play out in my head for groups like N.W.A., Fear, and Lightning Bolt. Dark Dark Dark’s debut album is titled The Snow Magic, which either tempers their band name or leads one to think, “They have to be talking about really evil snow magic, right?”

The first surprise when receiving the disc was looking at the band’s lineup. There’s Nona Marie Invie on accordion, piano, and vocals, Marshall Lacount on banjo and vocals, Jonathan Kaiser on cello and backing vocals, and Todd Chandler on bass. It turns out Dark Dark Dark is not a doom metal band or an especially depressed emo group, but an old-time string band. But unlike their brethren in Old Crow Medicine Show, Railroad Earth, and Yonder Mountain String Band, Dark Dark Dark does indeed explore the more, well, dark sounds of their instruments. The album’s opener, “Ashes”, effectively announces what the band is about. As swirling minor-key accordion and banjo evoke an early 20th-century circus setting, Invie theatrically tells the story of a lover’s rendezvous which ends in the woman accidentally falling into a river and drowning. That leads to the chorus, “I know you want to scatter my ashes / I know you want to scatter them far and wide.” The second song, “The Benefit of the Doubt” is a love song mostly sung by Lacount that begins with the lines “On your final day, did you think of me / And did I get the benefit of the doubt? / On my dying day, I will change my ways / And I’ll stop all this wandering around, dear.” The music starts off sparsely, with lightly strummed banjo chords and plucked cello, but shifts into a surprisingly jaunty, yet still minor-key, tune.

“A Cloud Story” is much more ethereal sounding song at first, as Invie sings about a dream she had against soft, reverby backing vocals and arco cello and bass. Then Lacount takes over the singing and the banjo and accordion come in, and the band immediately sounds old-timey again. Oh, and the dream that Lacount and Invie are singing about involves the clouds falling from the sky and the people on the ground patiently waiting to die. At this point, it’s clear that Dark Dark Dark are going to come very close to living up to their name, not an easy thing to do when your band includes full-time accordion and banjo players. But Invie and Lacount do an admirable job of bringing out different aspects of instruments that are best recognized for their upbeat sounds.

For all its dour subject matter, The Snow Magic is an entertaining album. The instrumental arrangements are a high point, and Invie’s accordion playing in particular is top-notch. Many of the songs here are uptempo and even approach being bouncy, such as the sea chanty-like “Ferment in Dm” (sample lyric: “And when I hold you underwater / count which breath will be your last”) and the piano-driven “That Light” (“Where’s that light you’re looking for / you can’t see it with your head underground / So just dig yourself out”). “New York Song” concerns moving to the city and has many complaints about it, but the chorus concludes that, “Being here is better than wishing we’d stayed.” Because Dark Dark Dark use their instruments in a variety of ways, even the slow songs manage to avoid sounding repetitive. Invie’s accordion usually drives the music with complicated and catchy minor-key melodies, but the band is equally effective when they hold back and let the vocals take center stage. The dirge-like “Dig a Grave” is probably the album’s best example. The accordion and cello play long chords under a simple banjo line and Lacount’s mournful lead vocal really sells the song, a lament to a dead relative.

Dark Dark Dark have a curious approach to harmony. Often Lacount and Invie will be singing the same lyrics, in harmony, yet they don’t quite line up. It’s an interesting technique that makes it sound like they were recorded separately, to the same music but without listening to the other’s performance. It gives the band’s vocals a slightly off-balance, disorienting feel which works quite well with the somewhat stranded-in-time vibe of the music. In addition, Minneapolis musician and Andrew Bird drummer Martin Dosh pops up throughout the album to add touches of percussion, from drums on the opener “Ashes” to xylophones elsewhere. He does an excellent job of accentuating the music without taking the focus off of the main band.

Dark Dark Dark certainly work hard to live up to their name. There is very little cheer to be found in the lyrics, but they’re far from the first musicians to specialize in the morbid and depressing. I would say that they warrant two Darks in their name, but don’t quite hit three Darks’ worth of bleakness. However, “Dark Dark Dark” has a much better ring to it than “Dark Dark”, so they probably made the right call. Regardless, The Snow Magic is a strong debut that evokes dark times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It also evoked in me memories of the HBO series Deadwood, which featured a lot of dark times itself in the late 19th century, and often played downbeat period songs over its closing credits.

(review of limited edition first pressing of “The Snow Magic” from Reveille Magazine)

How does one sculpt intense music with minimal percussion and no electrical outputs? Local quartet Dark Dark Dark has the answer: mood, mood, mood. Despite employing little more than accordion, strings, banjo, and voice, The Snow Magic still manages to swell with dramatic tension, its streamlined sound marching confidently forward. Oh and what the hell, a little drumming here and there from local superstar Martin Dosh certainly won’t hurt any album.

Even as the rollicking saloon jam “Ashes” launches the listener into the record, Dosh keeps his presence graceful with just a dash of frenzy, always ceding the spotlight to the band’s rustic interweaving melodies. The ghostly harmonizing groans on “A Cloud Story” provide just one example of Dark Dark Dark’s unique blend of old world suspense and intricate aural trickery, and surely due credit goes to their producer – Minneapolis music scene veteran Rob Skoro, whose own records have always sparkled among the crowded local singer-songwriter field. Skoro’s mixing board prowess is readily evident when the vocalists burst out in front of the music with the memorable line, “there’s no ocean in Minneapolis!” on the rousing “Colors” and when the accordion keys can be heard ever so slightly tapping along with the exhaled notes on the stately closer “All the Things.”

A band equal parts haunted hay ride and Beirut, Dark Dark Dark is more than just bells, whistles, and expertly blended vocal patterns, it all comes back to their nagging emphasis on mood. To help capture the stark intimacy they were going for Dark Dark Dark eschewed working in a traditional studio setting, opting instead to make the album, as their website phrases it, “in a cozy Minneapolis house.” Dark Dark Dark’s decision to home record paid off in spades, lending a candlelit basement sleepover vibe to the chorus of “Junk Bones.” Elsewhere the quiet and bright pizzicato in “Trouble No More” evokes a lonely attic window as the morning sun creeps in.

Ruminations on ghosts, winter, and graveyards may run throughout The Snow Magic’s lyrics, but Dark Dark Dark’s black mood still sounds pleasant and friendly. A few years ago Spaghetti Western String Co. excited local music fans by putting their own modern spin on organic antiquated sounds and Dark Dark Dark seems poised to following in their footsteps. Thanks to the fresh perspectives of the talent working both in front of and behind the record button The Snow Magic makes the old sound invitingly new.