Darla Jade
Backseat Driver
Since her first release in 2019, Darla Jade has staked a claim in the Electro-Pop genre with impressive results. The vocals from this native of Stoke-On-Trent have been heard around the world in over 60 million streams in a host of dance and club mixes. She’s an avid co-writer with others in the genre, has an impressive number of monthly listeners and has released nearly 20 tracks - some of which have been featured on the BBC. Listening to her latest release, “Backseat Driver,” it’s easy to understand why. Let’s check it out!
We’re in G, and the opening beat salvo puts us around 173 BPM. The chord progression swirls around a twenty-one sixty-five (2-, 1, 6-, 5) and Darla starts in her lower register. It’s a sparse arrangement to start - just drums, Darla, guitar and a mix of bass and synth, and it sets up the vibe perfectly. The high tempo serves the lyrics well - not just in delivery, but the message too. She has a well rounded tone - smoky at parts, but always retaining a smoother edge. The back half of the first verse (call it the Pre if you want) showcases a clarity she has in her higher register than reminds me of Dido, but stronger (it was this tone that hooked me when I first heard “Broken Armour” in 2022 - and it’s still one of my favorite tracks).
As the chorus drops, the arrangement expands to add more keys, guitars, and backgrounds. Solid mix and production here by Imad Salhi and George Gleeson, there’s a cohesion to it that most independent releases don’t have - it’s obvious these three have worked together a lot and understand the most important elements that Darla is trying to get across. It’s a four fifteen chorus (4, 1, 5), short and to the point, as Darla jumps up an octave to drive home the message.
Love the sound FX at the start of the second verse - very clever. They do a great job of adding just enough instrumentation and backgrounds to keep expanding the mix, adding on just enough layers but not overwhelming the listener. The highlight here is definitely Darla’s background vocal work that help paint the picture of being out of control. Absolutely love it - great way to build up some anticipation before we come back around to the second chorus which at this point is easy to sing along to. Before I forget, I also have to say that one of the things I adore about Darla’s voice is her pronunciation. Perhaps it’s the stupid American in me, but I just love the way she sings words like “can’t” with her accent.
The bridge is built around 2-, 6-, 5 and I absolutely love the sparse production here. Lyrically, she’s at her most vulnerable, and the production is in concert with her emotions. Her falsetto is stunning and you can tell it doesn’t need much processing. Also love the dirty guitar riffs that have continued to build throughout this track - and the clean tone set up they use before the final chorus drops. It all comes to a head in the final chorus that ends with an all-stop right around 2:55.
This is another solid track from Darla, and it’s easy to imagine extended versions of this for clubs, or a stretched out live version with her band. (By the way, make sure you click on her YouTube channel below to check out some great live performances.) “Backseat Driver” adds to her impressive catalog of work in the Electro-Pop genre. With work as solid as this, it’s no surprise that she’s been able to accomplish so much in just 4 years of releasing music. She is definitely one of our favorites and someone we hope to see live, soon! Nice work Darla & team.