♫ Darker My Love | B-

As the opening guitar riff from Darker My Love's new album fades in, it quickly becomes clear that the band's style has undoubtedly changed. The Los Angeles-based quintet has always been grouped with independent soul-rock and psychedelic rock. However, their third album, Alive As You Are, represents a clear shift for the band, moving away from a psychedelic sound toward a soul-rock distinction. The band has chosen to do away with the heavy effects that were formerly their staple and adopt an earthy and clean tone. Thus, without the drowning distortion and reverb, the harmonized vocals and clean guitars feel more at home in the early '60s than they do in 2010.

Alive As You Aredisplays the band's simple effectiveness with their instruments. Often modest and rarely indulgent, Darker My Love combines simple melodies, as well as riffs and rhythms from each aspect of the band, to produce a clearly defined sound. The dual vocals and lyrics of guitarist, Tim Presley and bassist Rob Barbato won't blow away listeners, but they do complement the band's work.

Ultimately, the band accomplishes what it sets out to do, which isn't all that much. The main criticism to be found with the album is its lack of ambition. Significant portions of the 36-minute album will go by without leaving a lasting impression. That's not to say the album doesn't have several solid tracks. "Backseat" kicks off the album with catchy melodies and a simple but effective breakdown. "18th Street Shuffle" and "Dear Author" are both strong rhythm-based songs sparked by enticing keyboard riffs. While Alive As You Are isn't a groundbreaking achievement for Darker My Love, it does have several songs worth listening to and certainly provides reason to pay attention to this band in the future.