Dark Waves at Danforth Music Hall (Toronto, Ontario) on February 17, 2015 [Photos & Show Review]

By Jesse Espana
Photos by Matthew Bamber

http://darkwavesmusic.com/

Dark Waves, an up and coming indie pop outfit, ventured from their much warmer home of Los Angeles to play the Danforth Music Hall as a supporting act.

Dark Waves

While there isn’t too much mainstream coverage on Dark Waves, they’ve been doing quite well on apps like Spotify. After reaching two million streams on the debut song “The Heart Beat The Soul,” the band has managed to catch the eyes of music lovers and critics alike. Recently, the band released a simplistic but elegant video for their single “I Don’t Wanna Be In Love.”

For much of the band’s set the lighting was very basic and somewhat ominous. Aside from the blue lights shining from the minters and single blue backlight, there wasn’t much else. They flickered with the beat of the songs but I got the feel that less was more for these guys.

Dark Waves

The band’s performance was pretty strong as they seemed well versed in each song and were comfortable with them. However, the excitement level was relatively one-note. Aside from the lead guitarist rocking out a bit more, the band remained sheltered. There wasn’t much interaction with the crowd either but show goers were still very supportive and enjoyed what they were hearing.

Dark Waves’ sound is very easy to get into. Similar to The Killers, they share a synth-like electro vibe while also having heavier and more powerful aspects to their songs. Much of the set sounded the same but that wasn’t a bad thing as each song was catchy and they were easy to move around to.

Dark Waves

For a four-piece band they had a very large sound and compared to their recordings, they were almost identical. The majority of the songs’ varying sounds came from the guitar melodies and lead singer Nick Long’s vocals. The only things I could have hoped for was more excitement from Long and the band. He has a very strong and demanding voice and could have used it to his advantage between songs. But then again, their calming chilled-out sound does allow them to sit back and just play. Perhaps being a newer act they’re simply getting accustomed to life on the road and performing live, so there is some leeway there.

Having not been around too long, Dark Waves already seem to be making a name for themselves and they definitely delivered on the Danforth. The band has a lot of room to grow and their sound is just too catchy to not enjoy, keep an eye out for them.