About
South Carolina bassist Kelley and Kentucky guitarist Jessi got together in the mid-'00s at the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp, founded by Kelley in Murfreesboro , Tennessee . Not long after, they were joined by Virginia-raised baritone ukulele plucker Nikki. At that point, they were a cowpunk power trio, all sharing the fake surname Darlin. In 2006, they commenced performing inebriated live gigs during which crowd members noted their raucous hick energy, three-way harmonies, less-then-reverent wit, ability to trade instruments, shapely gams and snazzy cowboy boots. By 2008, the Darlins were showcasing their hot-mama hybrid of old-timey white blues, rockabilly and pub-rock on disc: A three-song teaser EP was highlighted by numbers about living snaggle-toothed in a middle-of-nowhere shack and about coming home after too many drinks and devouring an entire chicken found in the fridge. A four-song live and "field recording" CD-R added renditions of "Tom Dooley" and Ernest Tubb's "Nails in My Coffin." Their uproarious debut album, produced with chamber-pop additives by Jeff Curtin, but sounding nothing like his more famous studio understudies Vampire Weekend, followed in 2009.
- Chuck Eddy
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.