Darlings of Chelsea
Live at Lee's Palace Saturday January 23rd 2010
http://www.myspace.com/darlingsofchelsea
By: Alex Young

- Chris Nova on Drums, Robbie Ruckus on bass, Jay Milette on guitar, Paul Thompson on guitar, Sean Robertson on vocals



Toronto's Darlings of Chelsea have garnered quite the buzz for themselves considering the band hasn't even been around for a year and they have already earned a slot at the South By South West Festival. The band's badass line-up consists of members that have played with The Black Halos, Robin Black and the Intergalactic Rock Stars and CJ Sleez. The band's sound is an atomic combination of razor sharp guitar riffs, bombastic bass lines and Sean Robertson's crisp vocals. Darlings of Chelsea are hot off the heels of their latest release, "The Mimco Sessions" and shook Lee's Palace to the rafters with their unbridled energy, relentless raw power and ungodly guitar distortion.



The band put on a powerhouse performance of songs like "I Want Your Love", "New Addiction" and the irresistible hooks on the punk rock sucker punch "Riot". Key components of the band's songs that are all too often forgotten by many bands that claim to be punk rock is guitar hooks, not to mention they are courageous enough to include bold choruses. Although Jay Milette and Paul Thompson balance each other out as a tag team of guitarists that rip through power chords and spitfire hooks with a vengeance, Robertson's vocals snap the songs into focus. At one point between songs Robertson was trying to balance holding two beers and a shot at the same time, telling the crowd, "This is what you call triple fisting!" On stage Darlings of Chelsea come across as more of a gang that's rough around the edges than a band, but their songs make it clear there is a lot more going on than their image.



Despite Robertson's party antics on stage, the band's fiery performance had the crowd hanging on to their every move, waiting to dive into another sleazy song drenched in distortion. The band brought rock and roll back to where it belongs: in cool clubs with a sound slick enough to get the girls on the dance floor and the boys drinking pints and banging their heads. Darlings of Chelsea may be on the rise, but keep your eyes peeled on where they're headed, because it's not often that modern punk bands can create a sound that's truly their own.