Album review - "Nothing" by Darkside
A first dabble in talking music, which I wouldn't have any other way than by discussing a new album from Nicolás Jaar, Dave Harrington and Tlacael Esparza
My first time seeing Darkside was in 2013 when they debuted at The Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. They played during a special Trouw takeover, which was the absolute pinnacle of music for me at that time. I worked at The Concertgebouw and spent my free time at Trouw, so this concert just made perfect sense.
That night, we sat in the great hall of The Concertgebouw, and at 20:15 sharp, the doors closed. What followed was a dark, confusing, and profound musical experience. It was Darkside’s first appearance in the Netherlands, Trouw’s first time organizing such an event, and The Concertgebouw’s first time hosting this type of music in their grand hall—a major shift from their classical programming. You could feel that it was new, exhilarating, and even a little scary. That night cemented Darkside, Trouw, and The Concertgebouw in my musical heart. It’s a memory I still cherish to this day.
Nothing is their third album and the first time the band has expanded from a duo to a trio. Darkside originated as a two-man band: Nicolas Jaar, who spans shades of pop, ambient, noise, and club music, and multi-instrumentalist and producer Dave Harrington. Now, drummer Tlacael Esparza has joined the band, and the trio began writing in 2022.
The album was created using an improvisational method they call the Nothing Jam. “It’s a thought experiment for playing music,” Harrington said in a recent interview. “You’re not trying to make anything happen.” Their previous albums leaned heavily on the ‘Jaar’ side when it came to rhythm—amazingly detailed, elaborate yet effective, often feeling like the work of scholars dissecting their own craft. That core remains: you still hear Jaar’s techno influences and Harrington’s incredible guitar work and soundscapes. But the addition of Tlacael Esparza and their improvisational philosophy gave them a way to break free from their own past. Still meticulous, still experimental—but now unhindered by genre or even their own expectations. Esparza adds a level of depth to the rhythm section and elevates the warped and corroded avant-garde soundscape that Darkside is so good at.
The first song emphasizes the new direction of “nothingness,” letting the instruments speak for themselves without too much interference from thought and planning. It feels close to the heart. Throughout the album, Nothing lets conventions clash freely, creating a new definition of translucent harmony, and feels truly alive.
wrote a beautiful review of the album with a deeper focus on the individual songs that I also recommend reading.
The album made me think of The Smile, Thom Yorke’s latest project. Alongside Yorke and Jonny Greenwood—both from Radiohead—The Smile features jazz drummer Tom Skinner. Philip Selway, Radiohead’s drummer, is an amazingly talented rock drummer, but it’s fascinating to hear what Skinner brings to The Smile with his jazz-influenced background.
I know I’m comparing apples and oranges here, and I’m not trying to call one drummer better than the other. I guess I’m pointing out my own ignorance about how much influence a drummer can have on a band’s sound. Coming from an electronic music background, my focus has always been more on groove, melody progression, and tension in records—the drums were usually provided by some sort of 909 or 808 drum machine. It’s incredibly refreshing to hear personality and emotion in a live drum set. There’s something in the crisp and loose hi-hats that makes me think of The Smile when I listen to Nothing. Like a dark, compressed, and gritty nephew. Maybe it’s silly to realize this now—drummers adding emotion to their kit and the songs—but I’m glad to finally hear it.
Darkside built their album around the idea of surrender—improvising without forcing anything into place, letting moments form naturally and then dissolve just as quickly. At times, the album takes a nostalgic direction, only to brutally take it away bars later. Harrington’s guitar riff in “Are You Tired? (Keep on Singing)” is a great example of this. Ironically childish, brutally honest. Are you tired? Just keep on singing.
From the method of conception to the musical shifts and thematic moments throughout, the record is as loose as it is accurate. Nothing is a clean slate, and portrays an exercise in letting go. A beautiful thing to listen to. It’s liberating to hear a band lean so fully into the unknown knowing their history of more composed, more deliberate music. And maybe that’s the real power of Nothing. It doesn’t try to tell you where to go or what to feel. The album manages to capture the uncertainty of our era not by trying to impose meaning, but by letting the music simply exist, raw and unpolished, full of tension and beautiful fleeting moments.
“Look at the window,” sings Jaar on Hell Suite (Part 2). “It’s hell out there”