![dark mean cover [mp3] Dark Mean // Happy Banjo](http://tympanogram.com/files/dark-mean-cover.jpg "dark mean cover")
Dark Mean hail from Hamilton, Ontario, and they’ve been at work on their debut album for about 4 years at this point. They released a couple of EPs in the interim, but the self-titled result of the past four years will (finally) see the light of day on June 14th if you want it physically. (If you don’t need to hold it, you can buy it right now.) You can stream the whole release right now either on the band’s Bandcamp page or website. It’s a fantastic, honest effort from a band that has worked hard at it. Mark Dean’s (not a typo) vocals are sufficiently weary and worn, like he’s been singing these songs in his soul for as long as he can remember, and now that they’ve arrived, he can’t sing them loudly enough.
At first blush, a song called “Happy Banjo” might lend itself to a Deliverance-esque distrust. But once Dark Mean start into it, all backwoods illusions disappear into something that feels almost breathless with relief. This song is the end of a bad relationship through the lens of sex, it’s regaining independence from something controlling. For different people that could mean different things – maybe it’s quitting a job or moving out on your own – but there are times when being by yourself is the most liberating experience you could hope for. When the horns finally hit you should be some place down the road, moving on with your life.
The band has a single show listed on their website – June 24th at The Legendary Horseshoe Tavern. But I kind of hope they’ll be around NxNE the week before as well and just can’t announce it yet.
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Dark Mean // Happy Banjo [mp3] from the forthcoming Dark Mean
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