Contradicting its title, Nothing is certainly something for Darkside. Nothing is the trio's most varied, creative and accessible release yet, proving that they have plenty more ideas to explore and envelopes to push. It's also a strong contender for the best album of the year.
Once quietly shrouded in darkness and into the void and then suddenly reemerged into the spotlight, Darkside have returned. The musical project helmed by virtuosic guitarist/multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington and electronic phenom Nicolas Jaar has been around for quite some time, over a decade to be exact, but it has been quietly dormant during a lot of its time. 2013's Psychic introduced us to the duo's magic and charm of their unique bluesy, psychedelic electronic music you can either dance to at a smoky club or get lost in within your headphones. Then they laid dormant as a band for years, what looked to be forever, until they came out of the woodwork with Spiral in 2021. I loved Spiral at the time and I still do find the duo's charms and charisma in it, even if the band's dancey abilities weren't as prominent and instead replaced them with their emboldened psych jams. Despite this changeup into jammier territory, they seem to really embrace it and welcome it like true fans and I commend them for that.
Now three and a half years since Spiral, Darkside don't take a terrible amount of time this time releasing a new record. Titled Nothing, the band's third record brings in touring percussionist and visual artist Tlaceal Esparza as an official member, making the duo a trio. Having collaborated in the past from their previous tour, the improv jams they've spun out have inspired them to be more loose and sporadic it seems, or that's what I get when I listen to Nothing. As the most anticipated record of 2025 for me, I was pretty hyped to listen to Nothing and it does not disappoint for fans of the band or of the individual members themselves. They seem to shift into even more playful and fun territories, while fully embracing elements of disco, funk, dub, and Latin jazz. At points, one can even claim that Nothing resembles more of the house/sample heavy Against All Logic, Jaar's dancier moniker, rather than Darkside's previous records themselves. Don't worry though; if you're a little frazzled by this, there's still the bluesy, jammy guitar work from Harrington and the free flowing compositions reminiscent of Spiral. Back when I reviewed Spiral, I stated that it was their most fun record to date. Now with Nothing, I'd argue this one's even more fun, infectious, and direct. The serotonin-inducing grooves, hooks, and killer production make it inescapable to get out of your ears even after first listen.
The album starts with "SLAU", a slow burning intro that takes its time with pulsating dub grooves, percussion and guitar but once you get enveloped in it, it's instantly a highlight in the Darkside canon. I'm not 100% sure what Jaar's talking about when he sings about growing and moving like a centipede in his inhuman, glitchy, warbled voice, but I could see parallels between a centipede's flexible movements to that of the band's very own. "S.N.C", one of the album's lead singles, is not only a fantastic nod to 70's funk but one of the band's most fun, groovy, and infectious songs in their career. Standing for "Still No Center", "S.N.C" has these sticky basslines matched with some excellent shimmering funk keys pulled straight out of Stevie Wonder's playbook along with some high pitched vocals that can send you sky high. You can see the song's lyrical meaning in many ways, but I see it as an illusion or struggle to being fulfilled or finding true meaning within yourself, to seeing the actual center in your life. It's utterly fantastic and I can see it ripping in the live circuit. "Are You Tired? (Keep On Singing)" starts out as an atmospheric, ghostly, spacey slow burner that suddenly shifts into a sunlit, jammy, guitar strumming tune that one could hear at a Dead & Company show. I say this as a compliment, since the Dead are such an large influence in the band's work. Its uplifting messaging and sunny instrumental is both razor sharp and endearing.
"Graucha Max", released late last year, became one of my personal favorites of 2024 and for good reason. On the album, it still goes hard with its abrasive garage rock, noisily glitchy vocals and guitar work, fast drumming, grooves that seems to have a mind of its own and are almost alien like. It's fiery, in your face, intense, and absolutely outstanding. The final moments after the song initially "ends" are incredible with the alien, dubby instrumental cranked to eleven. "American References" is a much needed cooldown after its heated predecessor. The Spanish sung jam springs into Latin jazz and pop with its multi-layered percussion in a fluid and effortless fashion, making it a surprising, delightful detour. It doesn't vary all that much in its six minute runtime but its hypnotic grooves are hard to turn down the entire time. You can certainly hear Esparza's talents and chops on this one.
"Heavy Is Good for This" is a smooth, cool, bluesy guitar driven track that harkens back to the Psychic days. It's quite nice on the ears and although it isn't as wild or eccentric as the tracks that preceded it, it's still quite a stunner in the track listing, especially towards its climactic, explosive peak. Darkside do this style so well, they can do it in their sleep. The "Hell suite" parts 1 and 2 seem to initially pull directly from their improvisational, sporadic jams. Its elegant, engrossing delivery and instrumentation in Part 1 is eerily bright and surprisingly dreamy rather than nightmarish, despite lyrically pulling and inviting you into hell. Part 2 is a bit moodier but still all the prettier with its fluttering keys, gently strung acoustic guitar, and ghostly vocals. It's quite gorgeous and is a wonderful addition to the album. The album closer "Sin El Sol No Hay Nada" is a moody instrumental focused on keys and synths, sparse guitar chords, that build up patiently, then abrasively with fuzzed out guitar until the song abruptly ends. Translated to "without the sun, there is nothing", the song acts as a shadowy epilogue that's short, quick, and unexpected. It's an engrossing finale regardless, despite not standing out as much as an individual song itself.
Contradicting its title, Nothing is certainly something. The trio's new album is sharp, versatile, engaging, and exciting. It certainly meets my high expectations of what Darkside would do next, following up the two great records they've previously produced. Nothing is the band's most varied, creative and accessible release yet, proving that they have plenty more ideas to explore and envelopes to push. Sure, each member has many other creative outlets and avenues but when they all come together every once in a blue moon, something special truly happens. Psychic, Spiral, and Nothing mark as a stellar trio of albums, each one being stylistically unique on their own. It's hard to pick a favorite, but it's safe to say that Nothing is one of the best albums to come out of 2025. Its memorable songs, detailed craftsmanship, and performances truly make it a strong contender for being the best album of the year.
My Rating: 9 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Graucha Max", "S.N.C", "SLAU", "Are You Tired?", "American References"
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