Album Review: Darkside - Psychic

Young American Nicholas Jaar continues to surprise. His willingness to explore coupled with a strong sonic signature is what makes him compelling. Because Jaar offers a consistent level of quality (and a damn high one to boot), his fans will follow him wherever he chooses to wander. And if you listen closely, he wanders quite far.

Joining him for their first full-length album is guitarist and instrumentalist Dave Harrington, whose gentle krautrock sensibilities push Jaar in fascinating directions. There were moments on Jaar's celebrated Space Is Only Noise that feel close to some of the murkier parts in Psychic, but this record is far more muscular and driven, and has a strong rhythmic backbone. That's not to say it's a boisterous listen; Psychic is still a patient record, but there's a deeply buried ember that burns hot at its heart and gives it a fire that Space… never even tried to produce.

There's a terrific sense of balance to the record that reveals a fully successful collaboration between the two artists. Heart has a swagger to it that must be all Harrington's doing, but then it drops the muffled kick and bleeds out purple synth over the arrangement, turning it into a lost Gayngs B-side. Golden Arrow has Jaar's sinister alchemy all over it, while Paper Trails puts Harrington's sly guitar licks front and centre, backed by Jaar's warped vocals.

Psychic is a fantastic listen: a fluid blues/deep-house cocktail that boasts breathtaking depth. Dive in.