The third and final part of a conceptual triptych, Canvas completes the puzzle Surrey punks Darko started with 2022’s Sparkle and expanded upon by 2024’s Greyscale. Linked thematically, and all sharing a similar visual aesthetic, Canvas finds the band radiating some much needed positivity. Featuring seven tracks of fast, furious and frenetic hardcore, Darko also have a cerebral level and never lose sight of important stuff like melody and song structure and finds the painting their sound from a wide palette and that makes Canvas a multicoloured affair.
In terms of invention, I would draw a correlation between Darko and Canadian troubadours Fucked Up. Both have an exploratory and a desire to break away from the genre constraints that soon clamped punk’s initial creativity. That becomes immediately on opening instrumental ‘Grey Havens’, a track that draws heavily from post-rock textures. It feels as if the band have expended a great deal of effort on obtaining just the right tone and timbre, and subsequently it reverberates with the listener on some deep, primordial level. It’s strangely hypnotic and means that when the following ‘Dare To Dream’ kicks in, it kicks in hard. This is hardcore with the emphasis on hard, yet there’s also a strong melodic sensibility bubbling beneath. As with Gorilla Biscuits or Operation Ivy this is music you can dance and fight to (and possibly both at the same time).
Darko’s desire to constantly evolve is most evident in the way that no two songs sound the same. ‘Override!’ is a bruiser that operates with wrecking ball swing and punctuates itself with huge white spaces; there’s a strong focus on creating a sense of heavy emotion. In opposition, the following ‘Heretic’ is an amphetamine-fuelled, turbo-charged blast of hardcore that gets sucked into the lungs of hell and says all it has to say in 63 succinct seconds. Canvas is the type of multifaceted release that, like a good book or movie, will continue to raise questions long after the disc has stopped spinning.
The kind of joie de vivre with which Darko operate means that the seven cuts comprising Canvas pass far too soon, but don’t worry, you’ll soon be hitting ‘play’ again.
- Canvas is released via Lockjaw Records on 18th July 2025.
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Track List:
1. Grey Havens
2. Dared to Dream
3. Canvas
4. Override!
5. Hectic
6. Goodbye Bastards
7. Aux III
