Those Darlins

Honky Tonk Women
Those Darlins Fight for Rock and Country
By Andrew Clayman
Published in The Cleveland Scene, September 2010

After two solid years spent conquering any honky tonk and rock club that would book them, the Tennessee banditas of Those Darlins finally hit their first big snag in the road this summer. Just days before the Murfreesboro quartet was set to take off on a high profile Australian tour, ukulele-playing vixen Nikki Darlin took a tumble at a music festival in Nelsonville, Ohio, breaking her arm in nasty fashion. The Aussie tour was suddenly off, and the much-hyped country-rockers were now looking straight ahead into a summer of uncertainty.

“It was kind of scary at first,” says guitarist/vocalist Jessi Darlin, “because it was a bit like the world was coming to an end, you know? But I think we all handled it pretty much the best that we possibly could. Nikki especially has had a really great attitude about it. She doesn’t really get to play very much on the new album that we’re finishing up, but she’s still there and still a vital part of everything. So we just keep going forward.”

While Nikki won’t be able to wield the uke again for another few months, she and the rest of Those Darlins haven’t really missed a beat. On the road, the band recruited Shane Spresser of the Velcro Stars to lend a hand instrumentally, while Nikki, Jessi, and bassist Kelley Darlin (incidentally, they’re not related) all share the vocal duties as they always have. Drummer Linwood Regensburg rounds out the current lineup. Collectively, they’re a group that demands attention—effortlessly re-animating Nashville’s sassier past with a nod to punk’s more visceral delivery. Imagine the Carter Family kidnapped by the Runaways.

“With the first album (2009’s Those Darlins), a lot of people seemed to want to group us into alt-country or Americana music,” Jessi says. “I just never really saw that comparison much. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that we’re from the South, and no matter what we sing, it’s going to sound Southern. But, you know, the other day a friend of mine in Atlanta told me he couldn’t understand the Americana thing, either, because he always saw us more as a rock n’ roll band. And I was just like, thank you!”

In line with their new 7-inch single “Nightjogger,” Jessi Darlin says Those Darlins’ yet-to-be-completed sophomore LP will veer considerably more into the rock category and away from some of the country roots of their superb debut. To Jessi, though, the divide between punk rock and country music was always more of a sliver anyway.

“In both cases, it’s pretty much your basic three-chord songs,” she says. “And you’ve got your repetitive, catchy hooks. So there are those similarities. But I’d say, even more so, it’s all the workingman’s music. It’s about lifestyle and rebellion. You know, in country, you’ve got your whiskey drinking, honky tonkin’ kind of guy, like Johnny Cash or Hank Williams. And then in punk, it’s all about rebellion and being an individual, too. There are lots of parallels.”

Of course, when it comes to rebellion, it’s the Darlins’ gender that still pits them against the norms of the day more than anything else. While many garage rock bands have embraced country elements and vice versa, there are still raised eyebrows whenever a group of women with guitars try to enter the old boys club. Even amongst the band’s fans, there are some more interested in the novelty and sex appeal of Those Darlins than their undeniable talents as musicians and songwriters.

“It’s definitely something we get sick of,” Jessi says with a sigh. “I mean, yeah, we are girls, but what does that have to do with our music? That’s our whole argument. Just because we’re girls, it doesn’t mean that we’re going to play a certain style or sing a certain way. Those assumptions or generalizations can get a bit annoying.”

Naturally, Those Darlins would rather be referred to as a “great band” than a “girl band,” but at the same time, they’re hardly ignorant to the positive effects their success can have on other women with rock n’ roll aspirations.

“In theory, the only way people will stop pointing out the fact that we’re a ‘girl band’ is if there were a lot more girls playing music,” Jessi says. “So in that way, I’m definitely glad to help inspire other women to play music. And that’s why we do things like Girls Rock Camp, too, for that same reason.”

No matter how far gender equality advances in the years ahead, however, Jessi Darlin doesn’t envision a day when Those Darlins fit snuggly into the Nashville establishment.

“I don’t think we’ll ever be slick,” she says. “Me, personally, I’m just a lover of raw, dirty music. So I don’t think I’d ever be at the point that I’d want something smoother. If anything, we might get rougher [laughs].”