Dark Waters - The Rains

Dark Waters

The Rains
self-released; 2014

3.3 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Adam Hamby and Cherish Hamby have been creating music for the last seven years. The duo is the foundation for the five-piece alternative/rock band called Dark Waters. They make extremely accessible music that sounds like it could be playing from an FM station that plays “pop music you play all day at work.” The band seems to be going for gold here as they have the right kind of production to back the commercially accessible songs; in 2014 that means pop music. Their album The Rains sounds like a culmination of popular country and rock bands that have been hitting the airwaves. Don’t get me wrong you can't knock the band for bad songwriting because the songwriting isn’ bad by any means but they have a sound that can be identified as mainstream.

If they want to go for a mainstream sound then they should embrace it. The band does and they get away with it for the most part. That being said there are some cringe worthy moments like the unfortunate rapping that transitions into a country song called “One Last Breath.” What's baffling is that the singing sounds great and natural on “One Last Breath.” I hope for their own sake they ditch the rapping completely and never tread in that area again.

The band’s biggest strengths are the vocal harmonies as displayed on “Taking Water.” Hamby handles the vocal duties on the verse and they combine pipes on the chorus. “Taking Water” is a highlight and hopefully a style that they follow in the future. It’s a nice blend of country and folk, which to my ears sounds like they were most comfortable with.

The album closes with another hybrid entitled  “Burned.” It starts off with a beautiful guitar progression and some melancholy. Great stuff - don’t stop. Instead of riding out the wave they interject Everlast style rapping, which does not contrast well with the song. The band is trying to fit too much in. 

“Heart So Heavy” and “Taking Water” are where the band sounds their best. It was obvious to me this is where the foundation of their sound should stem from.  Hopefully, they will focus on a the country pop aspect of their music. It won’t attract any hipsters but might attract a mainstream audience.

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