This record teeters between hook rich garage pop and dark reflective noise music, sometimes within a single track. It begins with one of the more frantic tracks Tall Glass of Water, which bursts into the room with a swing and stagger. This energy then cuts completely and the next part of the song slowly builds the energy again, with Darcy crooning lowly and slowly (think: The Strokes or Car Seat Headrest) with a choir of voices joining him at the tail end of the piece.
From here the record twists and bends, dancing with several genres and influences. It feels as though Darcy is walking through the indie rock genre and spending a moment to become acquainted with the predecessors. One track for instance, You Felt Comfort, feels very much like an ode to Neutral Milk Hotel, a simple chord progression is paired against a repeated vocal melody which Darcy eventually lets bend and reach above the trees.
Pop songs obscured slightly with a curtain of psychedelic delay and phasers, folk tracks textured with bowed guitars, sunny sepia clad love songs, there is an impressive range of emotions and colours across Saturday Night.
Words by Tanner Perham
This review first appeared in print volume 88 edition 2 STOP