Sydney creative Darby has released a divine, melancholic ode to ‘Suburbia’

Darby has woven together the poetic pleasantries of indie-folk with the treacly chords of a perfect ballad on her latest single Suburbia.

Amidst the lockdown woes, we look down the barrel of 2020 with its festival cancellations and overseas New Year’s plans foregone. Like a party that was over before it began, the only thing good about this year has been the reflective and richly intimate music coming to light from creatives.

Local darling Darby is amongst those who have put our feelings into fruition. Washing over us with whimsical lament, Suburbia is about as nostalgic as it gets. When soldiering on seems like the only option, sometimes leaning into it is all one can do.

Darby is the multidisciplinary talent that is Bec O’Brien. Whilst her dexterous tendencies spread wide, Suburbia steps away from her usually evocative guitar playing: thus, revealing the mutual pursuit of piano and voice through a raw, skeletal lens. Bouts of dreamy lyricism quantifies and colours the world Darby paints:

“You wish your time was spent some other way. But I know that your heart light’s fading as is the end of your cigarette at midnight,” she sings.

Sailing into heavenly falsetto moments and supported by chalky harmonies, Darby’s silky melismas are to die for. Recalling her contemporaries such as Julia Jacklin and Angel Olsen, each sentiment is purposeful and laden with a femme fatale trap. Steeped in despondency and honesty, Suburbia bursts at the seams with a timely truth.

 

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Thank you so much @joekhan for premiering ‘Suburbia’ on your show this morn 💙 I named the album ‘Suburbia’ because it is the song that I feel speaks most to my heart, written on guitar in an open tuning then ended up finding itself on piano. We’d been in the studio all day with @ryankbrennan Who is the most patient wonderful man to make music with, this was the final take- of a very big day- I was sitting at the piano exhausted but determined to track everything. I got the take then ran off to play a show at the Gasoline Pony in Marrickville across the way. To check out the film clip/read a little more click the link in my bio Album out September 3rd via @eveningrecordsco Launching September 3rd @vanguardnewtown Tickets via moshtix 📸 @bartel___art @van_bartel

A post shared by d a r b y (@darbymusic) on Aug 18, 2020 at 6:32pm PDT

Having danced with and between industry royalty such as Tia Gostelow and Shane Howard (Goanna), Darby is full of her own burgeoning brilliance. Watch this adoring space for the release of her debut full-length album, produced at the hands of Ryan K Brennan (Phantastic Ferniture).

Catch her at the Vanguard for her single launch on Thursday, September 3rd; you’ll be glad to have a seat for this one, somewhere to rest chin into palm. Until then, dive into the 1998 home video footage montage filmed by Darby and her mother for Suburbia below: