Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling talks about their new EP - The New Number 2
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Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling is a duo consisting of Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein. Self-described as, "loud, arty, minimalist rock working in the realm of proto-punk/new wave/no wave bands", Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling has an authentic energy and sound that is rarely seen around town that often.
They will be celebrating the release of their debut EP, The New Number 2 Saturday the 3rd at Church. Get more info HERE. The EP is stuffed with creative angst. I recommend this EP if you are sick of all the same old crap. It also is inspired by a sci-fi series, The Prisoner. Can't get more awesome than that. Cacciola, Epstein and Epstein's mustache had the time to answer a few Q's about where the unique inspiration came from.
Deli: The new EP, The New Number 2 is based on/inspired by an old sci-fi show, The Prisoner. Can you tell as more about what inspired your take on the project? Why is The Prisoner so important to Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling?
Sophia Cacciola: Once I saw The Prisoner, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I first saw it right at a time when my writing was getting a little less introspective and more about exploring a murky, cinematic world centered around a moralistic, dark, strong-willed yet desperate character. Patrick McGoohan's Number 6 fit this mold perfectly. The themes of the show: Big Brother, societal distrust of individuality, totalitarianism, the meaning of escaping, the construct of imprisonment, and identifying who actually dictates fate, are all topics that feel ever-urgent and worthy of thinking and writing about. So from there it just became obvious that this was what I wanted to do with the band. The rest, the visual imagery (black coats with white piping, etc.) as well as the name of the band, all just fell right into place.
Psychedelic swirling lures, introducing Forest People with atmospheric effects, slide guitar and nebulous, distant vocals. It builds softly before dropping dead into one crunchy, snarled-lip guitar lick. The band kicks it aside with the verse, Daniel Tortoledo's vocals immediately in the high-register, the rhythm guitar jiving like 70's funk. It's as hypnotizing an opener as this listener has encountered in a very long time. But The Highway, much as the name suggests, isn't content to idle in one place. "Frozen Sun" cruises away from a desert sunset and a troubled past; there's defeat in the lyrics, but it's accepted, calm, soothed by the breeze and the knowledge that tomorrow is a new day. The title track reminds what a spell a well thought out chord progression and back-up vocals can weave - it's a stunning, down-tempo meditation. "Song for the World" is utterly beautiful; if you're the type to let music touch you, this one will, and it's thanks to plumb ingenious song-writing: An entrancingly bittersweet opening gives way to one hell of a surprising French interlude (yes, both linguistically and musically); the song loops back on itself, gaining weight and fleshing out, and by the end, you might not know whether to laugh, cry, or sing along - even though they've switched languages again, this time to Spanish. Now, I know I'm a bit of a sap, but the raw emotionality of the record is worth noting because it's a field in which psychedelically-minded rock 'n roll rarely succeeds. But it's rock and roll, after all, so fear not if you just want to put your fist in the air - there's attitude in abundance, sharp and edgy soloing, inspired rhythm changes; hell, there's even a sing-along drum-and-vocal break. There's still some residue of the "rock is dead" prophesying, some grumbling that rock and roll is all, at this point, recycled goods, and that the new breed of rock is not really "rock" so much as indie, as experimental, as post-this or that-core. Buy Forest People. And then buy it for anyone you know who buys that sh*t.
- Cullen Corley
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