This is a post that maybe doesn't fit into the general theme of this blog, but after hearing a few friends say they had never heard Des Ark, I figured it was worth posting. I'm not even sure how to describe their sound. The instruments are played hard, loud and fast and show that members of Des Ark probably grew up on a healthy diet of punk rock, but there is a twangy/bluesy side that shows through under all the noise. Some of the slower songs almost remind me of Pygmy Lush (who Des Ark recently toured with). The vocals are probably the most distinct element of this record though. Vocalist (and for a long time, principle member of the band) Aimee Argotte has a disarmingly sweet and beautiful voice with a hint of a southern drawl, but she's not afraid to scream, wail and howl her dark and sometimes overtly sexual lyrics. Not many vocalists can cover the range of emotions that she does in one song, let alone a whole record.
This may be a bit of a slow burner for folks but I really urge you to give it a hard listen. With it's heavy blues influences on many of the songs I was definitely taken back a bit upon first listen, especially having heard the bands later stuff, which takes on a bit more of a folk vibe, but I've grown to love this record quite a bit. Check it out!~AB
thanks for posting this!
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