Darker My Love

Darker My Love, a Los Angeles psych-rock quartet, originated in 2001 when high school friends Tim Presley on guitars and vocals and Andy Granelli on drums first pooled their efforts. At the outset the endeavor remained secondary, since both musicians were already active in punk-tinged outfits—Presley and Granelli together in the Nerve Agents, and Granelli additionally with the Distillers—before bassist and vocalist Rob Barbato and guitarist Jared Everett, each a recent arrival from Boston, completed the lineup. A run of standout concerts soon persuaded the four to concentrate on developing their distinctive bright-yet-brooding style, forging a cohesive group that carried clear promise. Support appearances alongside the Kills, the Warlocks, and Icarus Line led to a three-song EP issued in the opening months of 2006, where early notices singled out Presley’s vocals for their resemblance to the melancholic tone of Robert Smith. Dangerbird Records then put out the self-titled debut album later that same year, its sound defined by saturated fuzz and hallucinatory distortion. The follow-up, titled 2 and issued in 2008, pushed further into murkier, more heavily distorted terrain. Midway through touring behind that record, Granelli stepped away to devote time to family life, and Dan Allaire, drummer for the Brian Jonestown Massacre, took his place. The band’s third album, Alive as You Are, appeared in 2010.