King Darves appears to be one guy playing all his own instruments on this unassuming De Stijl release. I learned that he hails from New Jersey -- or is it New Brunswick? -- and not much else about him. But after its 30 minutes ended, I found myself wanting to go back and find a lyrical passage to help me understand the mystical and genuine fantasy that is this mysterious King Darves. This is what I found, from “What for the Stables”:
"Fearing scarabs falling clouds[?]/ They brought all of them around/ Revelry is sick with wine/ Loud and wild believers/ Steep the upheaval to keep it up so long/ Stacking chairs on the table"
The next song opens with a whimsical rhythm that would be perfect for your next hand-in-hand walk down the avenue to pick raspberries with your sweetheart. Isn’t spring wonderful? Or is my enthusiasm making you sick? What I mean to say is this music kinda makes me feel a little bit better about everything, despite the earthquakes and the project car in the yard that still won’t start and the asshole boss who makes me feel like walking human doo-doo.
I’ve been trying to improve my skill at identifying wild plants recently, and I must say that this album is somewhere between black birch bark tea and the wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), which is to say that it is sweet and refreshing, analgesic, and deserves the patience that it takes to collect a substantial portion. Some of the quicker tunes are head-bobbingly good, if you’re given to that sort of response; or, if you're not, then it's good enough that, when you catch that lyric that reflects your status quo emotional complexity, you wanna smile or sigh in a rewarding fashion.
I’d be willing to bet that Mr. King Darves sat in his eclectically decorated home with a digital multi-track recording machine and surrounded himself with an array of percussion that included pots and a triangle, then wielded his guitar and sang the songs that percolated through his beard. If a beard were a coffee filter, this voice would be a New Orleans French roast: deep, rich, and satisfying.
If he were to show up at my farm with his wooden apothecary cart, I’d sit and listen to his musical tales as he strummed and chimed from the rear gate. And I probably wouldn’t notice, what with the mesmerizing and all, if his colorfully garbed companion stole our hog.
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