What’s better than one album ending an 18-year drought? Two albums.
The Dallas-based alternative rock band [DARYL] — its full name, Data Analyzing Robotic Youth Lifeform, is taken from the 1985 sci-fi film — last released a studio album in 2006.
That effort, Ohio, was not the end of the creative line for singer-songwriter Dylan Silvers, who poured his considerable abilities into other projects, including The Crash That Took Me, These Machines Are Winning and a stint as a member of the Polyphonic Spree.
Recently, Silvers returned to [DARYL] to craft a pair of new albums, I Dream Alone and The Wasted Casualties. Alone was produced by Silvers and Mike Danger; Casualties was produced by Silvers, Stuart Sikes (who oversaw Ohio) and Casey Dilorio.
The seven-track LPs will drop concurrently on Oct. 4, via Silvers’ long-time label home, Idol Records. To celebrate the dual release, [DARYL] will play — fittingly — a pair of release gigs: Oct. 4 at Dallas’ Double Wide, and Oct. 5 at Dan’s Silverleaf in Denton. The band will be joined in Dallas by Deathray Davies and Stress Palace, and in Denton by Deathray Davies and Fresh Ghosts.
I Dream Alone is, in a word, gorgeous. Dreamy, dense and intensely melodic, this 18-minute collection has its roots in the graphic novel Slaves for Gods Silvers authored as part of his These Machines Are Winning project.
[DARYL] is not a small band, and the full, immersive sound it makes befits its eight total members: In addition to Silvers, there’s bassist Jeff Parker, guitarist-keyboardist Dave Wilson, drummer Michael Lamm, bassist-keyboardist Chad Ferman, guitarist-vocalist Beau Wagener, guitarist Matt Pittman and programmer-drummer-keyboardist Michael Danger. (A ninth credited player, guitarist Dave Christensen, turns up on Casualties.)
Alone also features, for the first time in [DARYL]’s existence, someone besides Silvers taking lead vocals: Yahaira Van Malkenhorst is a recurring, almost spectral presence through Alone’s seven tracks.
Casualties, also inspired by Slaves for Gods, was born as work on Alone was concluding. Per press materials, “another wave of inspiration hit, and the band decided to write and record a companion album, this time in a completely distinctive style.”
Casualties is harder, more angular and propulsive than Alone — there’s a punk diffidence on these seven tracks as a tangy counterpoint to the more gauzy, fantastical mood on its companion. The Riverboat Gamblers’ Mike Wiebe contributes vocals to “No More Secrets,” and other guest vocalists include Black Tie Dynasty’s Cory Watson, Brandon Carr, Yahaira Van Malkenhorst, Brandon Butters and Jason Von Godi.
Both sides of [DARYL] are wonderful to behold, but here’s hoping it’s not another two decades before Silvers and his collaborators return with a follow-up.
[DARYL] album release concert at Double Wide, Dallas. 10 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $15.
[DARYL] album release concert at Dan’s Silverleaf, Denton. 9 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 day of show.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
