"Darling Chemicalia is a Sacramento, California outfit made up of singer/songwriter Ian Bone, drummer Justin Gonzales, and keyboardist/vocalist Stephine Fehlman, and they have crafted something truly memorable with their latest LP Valleys. Their last effort, 2009′s Ghost Sketch EP was a lo-fi basement pop record full of electronic drumbeats, fractured melodies, and shoegazey guitar riffs. While not a complete 180 in terms of sound or direction, Valleys nonetheless feels more organic and features a stronger concentration on a live atmosphere than its predecessor. The interplay between fuzzy guitars, creepy keyboards and drone effects are much tighter than they were on their previous album, and thus the songwriting comes across more cohesive. As good as Ghost Sketch was, there were times when it came off a bit like unfinished bedroom recordings than fully realized songs. With Valleys, Bone and his bandmates have remained loyal to their lo-fi aesthetic in terms of production, but the songs themselves are more carefully put together, with a surprising amount of hooks and melody.

Opener “Burning Valley Theme” sets the stage for the immersive and unnerving sonic world Darling Chemicalia will concoct on the remainder of the album. Bone’s reverb-drenched voice wails behind sinister guitar, doomy keyboard effects and tambourine as the song creates a state of hypnotic anxiety. The overall mood here is similar to Michael Gira’s work on Swans 2010 LP My Father Will Guide Me Up a Rope to the Sky, with dread and beauty coiling around layers of noisy reverb and droney ambiance. Interestingly, Bone is only working within the confines of avant garde drone in order to write his own specific brand of pop music. This is no more apparent than in songs like “Night Forest”, which features Fehlman’s effectively detached intro vocals before bursting into a jangly rocker, and highlight “Adrienne Barbeau”, the band’s strongest attempt at combining pop melody with their off-kilter sensibilities.

Valleys is an album that may very well be overlooked simply because the band is operating on such a small canvas and without much publicity. But this is an album worth discovering, and Darling Chemicalia is a band worth getting excited about. The group’s sound is fairly unique and Bone’s songwriting never falls prey to trend-chasing gimmicks, making the LP a breath of fresh air in a current underground music scene where bands seem to be grave robbing shamelessly from older artists. Certainly, there are hints of My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, and other atmospheric shoegaze-type groups here, but Darling Chemicalia never really sound like nostalgic throwbacks. It goes without saying that musicians draw heavily from various influences, but it’s quite rare for a band to have a sound that can’t entirely be pinned down.

Take tunes like the dreamy acoustic “Marvel” and the echo-chambered dirge “Miss”, which flirt along the edges of familiarity before drifting away like fleeting nightmares. Additionally, “The Valley” surges along with interweaving guitar lines and a real sense of urgency, while “Kick Rocks” is one of the most sonically challenging tracks, with Bone’s wavery vocals meshing with xylophone and drums that sound like they were recorded in a distant bedroom. It’s this uncompromising dedication to making insular as well as captivating music that makes the band so special. They are not trying to be rock stars, and yet Valleys is an album full of songs that transport the listener like all good rock albums should.

Perhaps the only drawback to the record is that it’s a grower in the truest sense of the word, meaning that listeners may be put off by how much investment it takes to fully absorb the music. This is not really a criticism per se, but more of an observation. Since the band aren’t making music for the masses, but instead for those who actually value experiencing a record over a period of days, weeks, or even months, Valleys ends up being an album best appreciated over the long haul."

-Jericho Cerrona @ symbioticreviews.com

"Led by the always-a-charmer Ian Bone, they keep to themselves and only play when the timing seems right. And the timing is definitely right this time because this is gonna be their record release show for their
self-produced, self-released, self-promoted (that's DIY in some languages) LP "Valleys". You haven't heard it yet, but I have (it's fucking great) and this is what I have to say about it.

In the opening track "Burning Valley Theme" you are immediately introduced (or re-introduced, for those already familiar) to the most agonized and off-putting voice in current rock and roll. Ian Bone
(main man, vocalizer, and visionary) demands you to follow him down a path of despair as he squeals "How can you be so cruel?" to a deathly, monotonous guitar chug. I want to say it reminds me of something but
it certainly doesn't. this kind of ponderous and swelling darkness doesn't even exist in music yet.

It might be easy for me to pigeon-hole them this way, but the brutal agony of these songs can be found to be akin to fellow doom-rocker Chelsea Wolfe (Ian played bass in Wolfe's pre-ghostrock band Red
Host), and that shouldn't be something to smirk at.
Darlingchemicalia's homespun psycho-folk is a thing to behold. However, within the infinite snarling sadness is beauty. Song craft waiting to be yanked out of the depths. Gentle guitar and keyboard weave and surround Bone's immaculate vocals. And, even, as the third
track "Kick Rocks" begins, Ian's lover and baby mama can be heard, gently crooning over dilapidated acoustic guitar and banjo. A small and withered voice, but strong and poignant nonetheless. The drums
(played by third member Justin Gonzales) kick the song into the outer realms. The couple mirror each other over a crippling, caterwauling jam that peters out in guitar feedback and moves back to the simple and gentle keyboard and acoustic guitar.

The ending to the A-side, "Adrienne Barbeau" is more "fun". The lead guitar part is catchy and memorable. It reminds of the stand-out track on "Ghost Sketch" (the album prior to this one), "Zombie" in
that it's a short, declarative summary of indie-rock in 2011. With a memorable and singable chorus to boot!

The second side continues in this climb, albeit with a tad more subdued take. Ian's voice soars to an even higher register over a keyboard and xylophone carried melody. Heavenly, though it's a tad askew and left of center. The chorus breaks into a choir of disembodied heads and carries the fucked guitar back to the verse.
Maybe that's not xylophone. Bells? Perfect.

"Marvel" is like voices coming out of the walls while you're dead and broken from a heroin overdose or something similar. The guitars bend and travel through your brain as you lay in a decomposed heap on your hardwood floor. The vocals chime and climb.

"Miss" is creepy and melancholic, bringing to mind the quietest song from Elliot Smith's 2nd album or a long lost Kurt Cobain home demo. The background vocals swell through, while banjo pours through the
haze. I'm not lying when i say Darlingchemicalia could have easily fit on Shimmy Disc or something in the 90's. Maybe Jade Tree in the early 00's? When the instrumentation bleeds off and the song is left
to end with just acoustic guitar, it warms me up and then the albums most rocking song kicks off. "The Valley"'s Cure-esque lead guitar line wouldn't sound wrong on every Blank Dogs song ever but is rescued
here before Mike Sniper could lay his hands on it. Bone buries it and lets the percussion and vocals do the talking.

The last song on the record "Geography" sounds like, first, a cast off Bonnie 'Prince' Billy track, then Bone's decrepit and whispered vocals come in. Almost devoid of any other instrumentation besides acoustic
guitar and banjo, Bone's vocals are allowed to breathe. A truly naked performance. Bone croaks, "How long is too long to wait/ when I'm waiting for your love?" A credible question. This is my favorite song on the record."

-Andrew Diamond Henderson (G. Green)