DA - Dark Rooms (7-inch, 1981)

It’s just pass 3am and you’re alone in a haunted house, trapped in a dark room and hiding beneath your covers from whatever might be lurking just outside your door. You listen for signs of company, but can only hear the eerie silence that surrounds you. You continue to probe through the quiet and suddenly notice the sound of breathing. Something breathing... and it's much closer than you hoped. Perhaps right there in the room with you... watching you... slowly closing in to introduce itself to you. You continue to clutch the blanket like a shield above your head; the air within is cold and dense, almost too dense to breathe, but you struggle. Your chest tightens squeezing your heart as it begins flutter. You try to stay still, but your body betrays by convulsing in terror. You can feel the thing now looming above you. The air seems colder and colder… denser and denser. You so badly want to peek, but don’t dare for fear of the horrific realization that this could be the end. So instead you cautiously wait and imagine your dreadful destiny opening itself wide to swallow you away...

So let’s face the facts here, more likely than not a band’s debut recording is far superior to all subsequent recordings. Be it a 7-inch single, a 5-song EP, or full-length album this initial release usually establishes both the bands musical style and lyrical themes (skill usually comes later), consequently dictating a specific fan base. So as sad is it may seem, seeing a fledgling band dropout due to insufficient resources (a.k.a. lack of label interest) can actually be quite promising –exclamation mark-

Case in point this Chicago based band called DA. Three-fourths female (yes, I have a minor obsession with XX musicians!) and a quarter male, DA were active in the early 80s, releasing two singles and one comp track, before slipping away into obscurity. Of all Dawn, Dave, Gaylene, and Lorna’s studio recordings the song “Dark Rooms” from the 7-inch of the same name stands out starkly among the rest. Comparable to output from bands like The Veil and Leningrad Sandwich this gothpunk requiem will have you bewitched from opening guitar strum to final cymbal crash.

DOT #6