Darling Violetta
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Darling Violetta | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States |
| Genres | Dark wave, dream pop |
| Years active | 1997-2009 |
| Label | Opaline Records |
| Past members | Cami Elen Jymm Thomas Atto Attie Steve McManus Chris Pott |
Darling Violetta was an American dark wave band based in Los Angeles, California, United States.[1][2][3]
Formation: 1996
Darling Violetta was formed in Los Angeles in late 1996 by Cami Elen and Jymm Thomas.[1][4][5] Vocalist Elen had previously appeared on the album Pure Hank (1991) by Hank Williams, Jr.,[6] and Jymm Thomas was an experienced guitarist.[1][5]
Originally performing acoustic music in coffeehouses around Los Angeles, Darling Violetta expanded its sound early with the addition of bassist Atto Attie and drummer Steve McManus.[1][5][7] The band derived its name from the salutation used by actor Bela Lugosi in letters to his mistress, Violetta Napierska.[7][8]
Bath-Water-Flowers: 1997-1999
In 1997, Darling Violetta answered a call in the Hollywood Reporter for unknown bands to submit music to feature on the soundtrack of an upcoming mockumentary movie, Burn Hollywood Burn.[9][10] Track "Anastasia Says" was one of the 25 songs ultimately selected from around 9,200 entries.[9][10] The song featured on Darling Violetta's first record, Bath-Water-Flowers, released on March 10, 1998.[11][12] Inspired thematically by the character of Ophelia from the Shakespeare play, Hamlet,[4] Bath-Water-Flowers was generally well-received by critics in Los Angeles' music scene.[5]
Cellist Gerri Sutyak joined the band shortly after the release of Bath-Water-Flowers,[13] solidifying the 'cello-rock' sound associated with Darling Violetta's music.[7][1][14][15] Writing in late 1998, Bernard Baur of Music Connection compared the band's sound to The Cranberries, with a repertoire of "moody [and] large musical landscapes" and a "flair for the dramatic."[1]
Also in 1998, Darling Violetta shared a rehearsal space with Four Star Mary, a band involved in the music of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[5] Through this connection, Darling Violetta received an opportunity to perform on the show in August 1998.[1][5] The band performed two songs in the Buffy episode "Faith, Hope & Trick" (season 3, episode 3): "Cure" from the then-upcoming Kill You EP, and "Blue Sun" from Bath-Water-Flowers.[1][16][17]
In 1999, Darling Violetta wrote the theme song for the Buffy spin-off series, Angel, in collaboration with Holly Knight.[18][19][20] The theme, inspired by the superhero genre, took three weeks to compose.[13][21]
The Kill You EP, Parlour, and other activities: 2000-2005
In February 2000, Darling Violetta released their second album, The Kill You EP, which was preceded by the single "Spoiled and Rotten."[5][22][23] Described as "melancholy, guitar-driven dream-pop" by AllMusic,[22] the EP was influenced sonically by Nick Cave and PJ Harvey.[23] Throughout 2000 and 2001, Darling Violetta periodically featured in the CMJ Radio Top 200, a collation of the top 200 bands played on North American campus radio stations.[24][25][26][27]
The Kill You EP was followed by a third release, Parlour, in February 2003.[28][29] Critics for AllMusic and Los Angeles Magazine felt aspects of the album's production were influenced by The Beatles, with the latter review also drawing sonic comparisons to Jane's Addiction.[7][28]
Outside of the band's independent recordings, Darling Violetta contributed two songs to soundtracks for video games within the Vampire: The Masquerade universe: "I Want to Kill You" in Redemption (2000) and "A Smaller God" in Bloodlines (2004).[30][31][32] An extended mix of the band's Angel theme appeared on the 2005 soundtrack album, Angel: Live Fast, Die Never.[19]
Hiatus
In late 2009, Elen and Thomas reported that they were recording songs for a fourth, untitled release,[33] though this album did not come to fruition.[34][35] In January 2018, Elen described Darling Violetta as "on an extended hiatus."[35]
