Dark Days is an interesting album. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an alternative/electronic album that was quite so long, coming in at fifty seven minutes and some change. Be that as it may the album is both catchy and original while also bringing the nostalgic factor into the mix. Think bands like Depeche Mode, New Order, Covenant, Camouflage, Erasure and some of those other obscure electronic alternative acts from the 80’s on up.  It made it very easy for me to get right into the groove of the album.

Cygnets manages to keep from becoming simple mimicry by including a lot of live instrument sound in the mix that include some Bernard Sumner sounding guitar work to even some KMFDM lite type stuff, solid drum machine constructions that range from DM to Nitzer Ebb, and a broad use of sound that stays in tune with the albums theme but also takes a few calculated steps off the beaten path.

I really thought that Teenager sounded a lot like it could have been a B side from the Kaiser Chiefs Employment album and RX Victims a close Franz Ferdinand comparison. Be that as it may the bands mix of so much sound gives them an original taste that is combined with angst and reach from songs about youth without direction, sexual tension, bad relationships and true love doomed. It pretty much has everything you’d look for in an album geared with this particular genre of music. Because it’s so long it does get a little rocky towards the back end of the album but it’s still well worth checking out. As always final judgment is yours. Enjoy.