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The impetus for Little Darkness, the new LP by The Domestics (the songwriting duo of Leo London and Michael Finn), occurred in 2015 on their tour with Blitzen Trapper supporting their self titled debut. The duo, and their band (Kyle Moderhak, Matt Moore, and Brad Norton), trekked through a grueling 28 shows in 30 days across the U.S. and Canada. Finn was going through a brutal and bitter break-up with his partner who was along with them for the tour and London's relationship of over a decade collapsed further with each passing day on the road. Each morning, London would wake to work on on his music at around 6AM – while the band slept. A tiny Casio would provide the tone and the rhythm as he whispered into a recorder, careful to wake no one. Upon arrival back home in Portland, Oregon, London continued to immerse himself in his early morning songwriting sessions, knocking out sketch after sketch while his now ex-girlfriend (whom he was still living with) slept. Having written over 200 songs since the recording of their first record, in the span of a few short months he wrote what would become the core set of songs for Little Darkness. Populated with stream of consciousness lyrics, London would pass his homemade recordings along to Finn. As each demo came in at a breakneck pace Finn would absorb them with feverish intent, repeatedly listening to the sparse sketches so very pregnant with hope, pain and love – not to mention being catchy as hell. “I was blown away by those demos ... the songs grabbed me – you could feel it. Reading the words, it was a million stories, not some breakup record or a concept album about any simply defined thing- just songs about being alive. It was brilliant.” Parts were pounded out, rough arrangements written, legendary producer Tucker Martine jumped on board and time at Martine's Flora Recording and Playback studio was booked; One month to write, record, mix and sequence Little Darkness. As they began tracking with calculated and ambitious experimentation they carefully wove the 11 songs that would become Little Darkness. Most days were 16 hours - there was simply nowhere else to be. “It's like when you've reached the point of no return. It's too late to straighten out and get a normie job. Too many years as an outdoor cat.... Broke and broken. Pointless and useless. So we made a record. What's more pointless than that?" London chuckles. Finn adds, “It felt like the whole world was collapsing around us, but that we had the opportunity to do whatever we wanted and we could make make it perfect.” Finally after one month London, Finn and Martine emerged with Little Darkness, an LP that is very much an album – meant to be listened to as a whole – but also chock full of corkers. From the opening notes of Love That Dress to the anthemic refrain of album closer Our Light, The Domestics Little Darkness is a sonically ambitious and compelling LP that demands repeat spins. Written in the aftermath of a national tour, the end of a decade long relationship, and recorded and mixed in a tireless month of arrangement and sonic experimentation, Little Darkness sounds like an obsession with honesty and perfection as if there is nothing left to take away.
Condition:NEW
TRACK LISTINGS
1. Love That Dress
2. Tunnels and Trains 2:55
3. Little Darkness 4:18
4. For The Last Time 3:40
5. Going Down The Wrong Way
6. Trampoline Girl
7. Suicide Hotline Sign
8. Good Not Great
9. Synthetic Girl
10. Less Light
11. Our Light
Digital Booklet: Little Darkness Album Only
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