Album Reviews

Donovan Wolfington’s latest release, the 5-song EP “Scary Stories You Tell In The Dark” opens with an ominous soundbite that tells us it’s very likely we will die in one of these moments. The band then lets loose in “Sleeping”, a song that sounds like Weezer after about fifteen cups of coffee. The guitars sound poppy one second before crashing into one another the next and whispered vocals get traded in for screams at the drop of a hat. I had never heard of this New Orleans-based band before but they make a good impression right off the bat.

The five songs on here are jarring, loud and all over the place but highly contagious at the same time. And while there’s plenty of aggression to go round, they’ll just as well throw in some more atmospheric parts… even if those seem to be written by a kid with ADD. “Quitting” throws some synth sounds in the mix as well as pulling the male/female vocals card. “Alone” comes with a fair amount of Title Fight influences as well as some memories of Helicopter Helicopter (does anyone remember that band?).

There is a whole lot going on on “Scary Stories You Tell In The Dark” (I stopped counting the different genres they incorporate when I hit the number ten) yet Donovan Wolfington never comes off as a band that is trying too hard. It all just makes sense and will leave you wanting more in the end.