The Tennessee country/punk outfit Those Darlins hit New York City on Friday, October 14th, playing Brooklyn’s Bell House. The three-girls-and-a-guy group got the crowd going by opening with their “let’s just be friends” anthem “Be Your Bro,” and neither the band nor the crowd (which I’m pretty sure included Best Coast baritone guitarist Bobb Bruno) let up the rest of the night. The band oozed attitude and desire (though in the case of “Fatty Needs a Fix,” the desire is for a lover—to get some food, stat!), rolling through most of their second album Screws Get Loose, adding in a generous dose of songs from their more-countrified first record.
Lead singer Jessi Darlin came out in what’s becoming her standard sequined gold leotard, which she totally pulled off despite the fact that it looked absolutely ridiculous. Her look was helped out by a serious dosage of crazy eyes, and a few forays offstage into the crowd, which added to the whole “screws get loose” concept. And while Jessi is center stage most of the time —and it’s hard not to be the center of attention when you look like Amélie in a sparkling unitard—Nikki and Kelley Darlin, along with drummer Linwood Regensburg, all chipped in their fair share of lead vocals. Standouts included Kelley Darlin’s “Boys,” an ode to the men she encounters on tour, and Nikki Darlin’s matter of fact, back-the-fuck-up-mister declaration, “Wild One.”