“Darkish Days”

It may be arduous to be in a band, or actually, in any sort of group the place there’s artistic collaboration, and also you’re imagined to act prefer it’s a democracy. As a result of what do you do with an concept that you simply love, if no person else believes in it? That query is a giant a part of this episode with Local Natives.

Local Natives is a band from Southern California. Their first album got here out in 2009, however the three vocalists and songwriters within the band, Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, and Ryan Hahn – they’ve been enjoying collectively since they have been in highschool. The lineup additionally consists of Matthew Frazier on drums and Nik Ewing on bass. They’ve put out 5 albums, together with their most up-to-date, Time Will Wait For No One, which got here out in July 2023.

However for this episode, I talked to Taylor, Kelcey, and Ryan about an older tune of theirs:“Darkish Days,” which got here out in 2016. It’s their largest tune thus far; it has over 100 million streams, and it’s been licensed gold. It’s a duet with Swedish singer Nina Persson, from The Cardigans. In 2020, they put out a brand new model of the tune, that includes Amelia Meath from the band Sylvan Esso.

I talked to the fellows right here within the studio, and to Amelia Meath remotely. And collectively, they instructed me the seven-yr story of how the tune was first made after which finally remade.

You should purchase or stream “Darkish Days” right here, and you will get different Local Natives music and merch right here.

Illustration by Carlos Lerma.

Speaking Heads – “This Should Be The Place”
Fleetwood Mac – “Desires”
Ableton Analog – synth
The Cardigans – “Lovefool”
March 2020 efficiency of “Darkish Days” on Jimmy Kimmel Stay!