Dark Storm is not for partying. It’s for the mellow 23-minute drive home after some party in south Calgary when, if you could only piece the night together, you’d remember to be embarrassed. Hayley Mary’s mournful vocals are easy enough on the hangover as she guides you through the night before.
The melancholy EP starts by delving into metaphors for drug use and sexual abuse and then transitions into themes of complicated love and finally, coping with heartbreak. It’s the perfect allegory for a Saturday night.
Until now, the Jezabels have made their modest home on pop hooks and the occasional single. While no particular track stands out on the four-piece’s third EP, the result is a melodramatic but easy to listen to effort that retains the band’s poppy roots.
It won’t quite get you dancing, but it will keep you awake and thinking on what will be a drive teeming with personal reflection.
Now buck up and make yourself some chicken noodle soup. You’ve had a hard night.