Wild Go

Exquisite sadness is the keynote for chamber-pop combo Dark Dark Dark’s Wild Go. Frontwoman Nona Marie Invie’s tear-inflected alto vocals and adept keyboard touch are quietly riveting, hinting at buried longings and sorrows beneath an austere sonic surface. Her insinuating, slightly bluesy piano lines on “Daydreaming” and “Robert” help pin down elusive emotions, while her light-fingered accordion work on “In Your Dreams” adds buoyancy to an otherwise brooding tune. Marshall LaCount — whose banjo and clarinet work is crucial to the band’s sound – adds further vocal color to “Right Path” and “Heavy Heart.” Wild Go isn’t entirely a trip into melancholia — the spritely “Carnival” finds Invie offering a whimsical list of things she loves. A more somber sort of happiness is suggested in “Something for Myself,” a statement of bruised but unshakable pride rendered with classical grace. Dark Dark Dark may imply more than they reveal in these songs, but by artful indirection they achieve sustained moments of genuine beauty.