Deidre & the Dark - Variety Hour
Label
YouTooCanWooWritten, Produced, Performed, Mixed by
Deidre & the DarkDavid Perlick-Molinari
Orchestrations by
Derek Muro
What
Deidre & the Dark is a cinematic, technicolor world of music conceived by Brooklyn-based songwriter, vocalist & instrumentalist Deidre Muro.
Seamlessly blending her love of 60s-era pop, rock, and standards with current electronic production, her fun and soulful tracks dance that magical line between feeling utterly classic and totally fresh. After years as a side project, 2019 sees Deidre & the Dark strut to the foreground with the debut album Variety Hour - a record of “nostalgic noir-pop enhanced by modern stereophonics” (Culture Collide), featuring recent singles “Bad Day,” “Back In Time” and “One Night” - “...a bold and brassy declaration of love for the 60s girl groups, 70s Philly soul, and modern R&B that delivers the kinds of hooks and euphoria found only in the very best pop records.” (WFMU, Sheila B)
Stylistic approach
Inspired by the signature format of golden era variety television shows, each of the album’s ten tracks takes on a uniquely different character. “As I was writing and imagining the flow of the record,” Deidre recalls, “I pictured costume, lighting and set changes, choreography, staging… It really guided the whole creative process for me.” Keeping in line with previous Deidre & The Dark releases, the tracks on Variety Hour have a vignette-esque quality, each featuring a leading lady inhabiting her own mini-world.
Deidre’s eclectic touch is all over the album, from 60s girl group backing vocals to transistor organs and wild bongos, and orchestral samples to deep house kicks. The production was a full family effort: co-produced and mixed by her husband David Perlick-Molinari, with orchestration by her brother Derek Muro, and a special guest appearance by her brand new son Desmond in the track “Bad Day.” Becoming a first-time mom while completing the album was no small feat, but Deidre’s personal life has always danced with her creative life - it’s an approach that keeps Deidre & the Dark heavily grounded in the present while gazing lovingly at the past.