Money – Candy Darling (single) – reviewed by Dave Franklin

You could say that Candy Darling are retrospectively futuristic. Their points of reference lie so far back in the musical canon that the cyclical nature of things probably means that they are actually well ahead of the fashion curve. Channelling the sounds of New York no-wave, proto-punk and super strength psychedelia, they come at you like a snarling, attitude fuelled beast, part Patti Smith’s uncompromising drive, part Suicide’s industrial dance experimentations. Dense, pulsating synths and clinical drum beats form a dark, dissonant canvas onto which they pour crunching guitar riffs and fuzzed out walls of noise whilst Emily’s striking voice dreams of getting that big break.

B-side, Temples, is a whole different affair. An impassioned and introverted vocal leads a slow burning build towards a richly layered, sonic crescendo and shows that there is more to the band than just rocking out. More than anything their music sounds dangerous but without compromising the dark beauty that runs through it. For in many ways the music is beautiful; sneering, snarling and often unnerving, but beautiful none the less.