Darrian Gerard
Darrian Gerard
Explosion
There’s something to be said about wanting to be an artist when you grow up in a small town, on an island, in a corner of the world. Sure, you may not have all the resources that other people do, but the isolation affords you to be incredibly productive. I think that’s the case here with this talented young artist from Vancouver Island, British Columbia - meet Darrian Gerard.
Darrian is a writer, singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer who records all of her own material. She began to release music in 2021 with a string of six singles that are pop / rock friendly with exceptional production for a freshman effort - each track displays solid writing and development of musical themes. Today, she releases a 5-song EP, “Basement Stadium,” with a common thread of her unique vocal tones, massive drums and great guitar tones. This definitely adds to her already impressive resume. Here’s our review of the second track, “Explosion.”
Track starts off in your face with an oscillating and distorted riff in B flat that is running around 103 BPM. Her vocals come in on the 5, and the lyrics immediately draw you in. Between the instrumental set-up and her vocal delivery, you know something big is about to pop out of your speakers. Great way to start a track - very captivating!
Full band drops in almost a half-time feel with a massive riff that perfect to the groove. This sounds as good as anything coming out of major studios today, it reminds me of Blink-182 or Sum 41, and her unique vocal tone is a huge help. Her tone is like a mash-up of Avril and Lights - the delivery is crystal clear. After the band break-in, we get to a second verse that goes to a double time feel and I really love how we’ve explored three different feels in the span of 51 seconds.
Then she throws us another curve ball with the chorus that starts off with the half-time feel before she expertly builds up the tension to a great sing-along payoff. Great anthem material right there. Back half of the chorus switches back to the half-time feel in perfect sync with the lyrical content that becomes more introspective. We briefly revisit the opening theme for a third “verse,” and the drum break she engineers to take us back to the chorus is absolutely kick ass - great fill and eq.
Then we’re back to another chorus, and pay attention to how she drags the melody over the instrumentation and the effect that has - great contradiction there to help bring out the most important elements. Great repetition of the theme too to help you remember the hook and the chorus before we come to a hard stop at the end.
I’m struck by the unique character of her voice, the level of professionalism in her mixes, and the chances she takes with respect to structure and composition. This track does not follow the “standard” song format, it lives and dies by its longer choruses, and, the ability of the song to hold together so well while she changes feels, builds things up, drops them out, and then rebuilds it all again. I’m a big proponent of taking chances like this and surprising the listener - but only if it works, and it certainly does here. Darrian is displaying an exceptional level of composition, production and vocal skills in this piece and we hope it takes her far!
Make sure you scroll down to catch her other tracks and socials. “Backseat Driver” has a killer drum groove, great keyboard tones and solid guitars. This is definitely a driving anthem! “Everyone’s Mad at Me” is a powerful mid-tempo track that starts more as a ballad or lament, but then goes heavy on the back half in a great build up. “I’m Not Sorry” might be my favorite of her early releases. Love the melody, the build up, the energy of the guitars - all of it.
Great track Darrian, congrats on the EP release! Hope you make it down here someday!
By the way, if you’ve never been to Vancouver Island, you really need to put it on your list. Unrivaled natural beauty, an amazing Capital in Victoria, incredible museums and gardens - and wonderful people. It’s one of the most lovely places I’ve been fortunate enough to visit.