Not long after Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington released their first album as Darkside, 2013’s Psychic, the duo announced that they were calling it quits, although there has always been hope for a reunion between the two. Even in the post announcing that news, they noted they were just coming to an end “for now.” Then, a few weeks ago, there was a sign that Darkside was at least on Jaar and Harrington’s minds when they dropped a Darkside live album. Now, it’s happening: Darkside is back and the duo has announced they are following up their critically acclaimed debut album with a second one, Spiral.
They didn’t reveal much info about Spiral, aside from its approximate release window of this upcoming spring (via Matador), and that it was mixed by Rashad Becker and mastered by Heba Kadry. Press materials also note that Jaar and Harrington “quietly reconvened in 2018 to begin writing new music.” Alongside the news, the pair shared “Liberty Bell,” the first single from the album that is propelled forward by a driving beat.
The band shared a note about the single and album, writing, “In 2018 we met for the first time in five years to make new music. In December 2019, we finished the followup to our first album Psychic. It’s called Spiral and it was mixed by Rashad Becker, mastered by Heba Kadry, and will come out on Matador Records in spring 2021. Liberty Bell is the first single. Talk soon.”
Listen to “Liberty Bell” above.