Lovely Dark is fine blend of “witch punk” and “pagan prog.” Their new album, Golden Bough with a mythic thread made modern; I loved the stories and the sound. You can see them live on January 17th at the Hook and Ladder, and it’ll be the third annual Gathering Darkness mini-fest
Last time we spoke was 2021. A lot has happened since then. Can you catch us up a little, with an eye toward how did you get from your trio of Eps (Perfectly Alive) to your newest work Golden Bough?
Probably the biggest shift for us was to our lineup. Our former guitar and bass player left to focus on their other project, but we were lucky that Brian Lake, our former guitarist, was available to play bass. He’s involved in the noise band Buildings and the shoegaze project Curve, so he brings a lot.
We also brought in Conrad Mach on guitar, who has played with our drummer Ben in the math-rock band Self–Evident for years. Getting to work with these two incredible musicians that we already have a strong musical chemistry with feels kind of like lightning hitting the same place twice. It’s awesome.
As for the new record, we tracked everything ourselves and really took our time dialing in the production. We got pretty deep into it, adding a lot of cinematic ear candy… it’s honestly really lush. Once everything was in place, we sent the album to Magnus Lindberg for mixing and mastering. He’s worked with everyone from Chelsea Wolf to more dense acts like The Holy, so we see it as a compliment that he was willing to take this project on! Every record feels like a step forward for us, and this one really captures that evolution. We’re genuinely excited about how it turned out and hoping it can find a way to folks who’d vibe with it. (Answer from Travis)
Please talk about the connection between your art and music. They are both so evocative.
Art was really my first love. Growing up, I wanted to be an illustrator, and I completely immersed myself in graphic novels, Art Nouveau, Art Deco, and fairy-tale artists like Arthur Rackham. It’s something I’ll definitely come back to more seriously down the line, but right now, with limited time, music tends to win out. Drawing can be pretty insular, whereas making music in a band is this shared experience. It’s an amalgamation of all your friends, and in my case, my partner, too. There’s an element of surprise to it, and a physicality that visual art doesn’t quite have. That said, both art and music are ways of telling stories and expressing emotion. To me, they’re closely connected. They’re both trying to capture something that’s hard to put into words, more like a dream or a feeling. In that sense, they bleed into each other, drawing from the same palette, just expressed in different forms. (Answer from Travis)
There is a primordial nature of your music that hits heart and belly. I hear it especially in Taliesin; I’m drawn in immediately. Please tell us about the inspiration of the song.
This song is about the myth of Taliesin – the legendary Druid who wound up being the inspiration for King Arthur’s Merlin. It’s interesting that you call it out as “primordial” because that’s a central theme of the myth – exploring the animal part of our nature we all share. At the story’s climax, Taliesin is being chased by an angry goddess and each of them takes turns transforming from one animal into another. Taliesin becomes a fish to escape her, so the goddess becomes an otter. Then he leaps up and becomes a bird, so she becomes a hawk, etc. Usually the story is told from the perspective of the hero as he flees for his life, but I wanted to explore the goddess’s point of view and the complex blend of emotions that transform her: rage, betrayal, grief, and ultimately love. I think it’s a great metaphor for how we exist in any deep relationship. We can experience a huge range of feelings that can completely transform us, all within the span of a day, an hour. I think that’s a common theme that runs through the whole album, actually – this sense we each contain within our singular psyche a whole range of characters. Under certain circumstances and pressures we can be totally overtaken, transformed into someone we hardly recognize. We are all capable of wonderful and terrible things. (Answer from Sonia)
Golden Bough gives me so much hope. Singing about the changing of the guard – the first light of the golden dawn brings our new pantheon. It’s not a victory song, it’s a going to battle song. It’s a rally to victory and draws from historical/mythical battles helps me feel like the world has been in dark places before and won. Do you see it as a hopeful song? If so, was the hope intentional or organic?
I think it is. The name comes from a couple of old stories. One is a Roman myth about a sacred tree where a priest-king’s life was bound to it. If someone wanted to take his place, they had to pull a magical golden branch, the Golden Bough, from the tree and then defeat him in combat. The whole ritual centered on death, renewal, the passing of power, and the natural cycles of the world. It’s in Greek mythology too, where a sacred branch, blessed by Persephone, allowed its holder to enter the world of the dead. In both cases, the Golden Bough is this divine token that offers protection and safe passage into the underworld.
On a more personal level, especially speaking as parents and as people getting older in a very young music scene, the song is also about real-life cycles. It’s about recognizing when it’s our turn to descend into the underworld, so to speak, and be tested. There’s a responsibility there, to notice when something feels wrong (like a “songbird singing out of tune”) and to stand up, even when it feels like things are “gone, so gone.”
So I wouldn’t call it hopeful exactly. It’s more like a ward, a rallying cry meant to offer some kind of protection to those who need it. Just like in the myths, it’s there as we collectively sense that something feels off in the world around us. (Answer from Travis)
Please tell us about the upcoming release show.
The release show is happening on January 17th at the Hook and Ladder, and it’ll be the third annual Gathering Darkness mini-fest. This year we’re sharing the stage with The Rope, Another Heaven, The Muatas, Finesses, and shadingthesun.
It’s really just a big celebration, different kinds of artists coming together in the middle of winter, supporting each other and embracing the darkness a bit. It also marks the vinyl release of our newest record, and somehow, the 15-year anniversary of the band. It’s going to be a really special night all around – a chance for connection and in-person celebration, which feels more important now than ever. (Answer from Travis)
Mostly Minnesota 