“I know I have like ten billion musical projects going on now, and I’m stoked on all of them, but this is the one thing I’ve been the most stoked on,” says Daniel James (Chinese Telephones, Indonesian Junk, Ramma Lamma) about his Daniel James Gang. I get it. Based on their new EP, Darkness Over This Town, this might just be my favorite thing he’s ever done.

The four-song EP is a total ripper from start to finish. Josh Rutledge once described the Daniel James Gang as “glampunk for fans of power pop,” and he nailed it—this is sweat-soaked, hook-heavy rock-’n’-roll at its best. The EP features the previously teased Misery and a cover of New Model Army’s The Hunt, but for me, the real standouts are the two new tracks. Lies is a slick, groove-heavy rocker with an instantly addictive chorus, while the title track? That one is straight fire—a high-energy anthem that feels like an instant classic and is definitely in my top two songs with Darkness and Town in the title.

On Darkness Over This Town, the Daniel James Gang is Daniel James, Logan Stang (drums), and Johnny Cyanide (bass), with Geoff Palmer and Miski Dee (City Mouse) on backing vocals.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp