The Last Dark Show

Artist: The Last Dark Show
Title: True Love Maze
Review by Bryan Rodgers

The Last Dark Show is primarily the project of Chicago musician Troy Petty, and True Love Maze is the band’s first proper album. Petty expands on his own songwriting and guitar foundation on the album by adding a standard rock and roll lineup of drums, bass, and additional guitar. His poignant, soul-searching pieces come to life under the restrained, tasteful hand of the band, and the songs transform into affable pop rock with seams of hard rock and alternative rock running throughout. The arrangements are mostly sparse, allowing Petty’s expressive singing to take center stage, but there are a few loud moments of balance here and there. The lyric-forward approach and understated musicianship make the music extremely catchy and radio-ready.

The Last Dark Show is all Petty, but the album might remind listeners of such disparate rock acts as Interpol, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Muse, Guster, Gin Blossoms, and Better Than Ezra. Petty’s voice falls right in the 1990’s alt-rock radio sweet spot, and his resemblance to many of the aforementioned singers is uncanny at times. For the most part, though, The Last Dark Show treads on the darker side of such sound, only occasionally letting bits of light in through the tightly drawn curtain of Petty’s lyrics. Opening track “Distant” is a very representative melding of rock varieties, a driving wad of noise that propels Petty’s vocals into outer space among shards of guitar. The brief and relatively bare-bones “Someday Fossil” builds instrumental tension to a peak with dramatic drums, allowing Petty to do the same vocally. The song runs less than two minutes but provides a glimpse into just how heady the band can get. “Never Again Forever” is similarly terse, with glowering vocals and instrumental work that threatens to explode for some time. Finally, the chorus bursts open in an enveloping rush of guitars, glazing the song’s otherwise dark tone with a few streaks of sunshine. The band’s touchstone sound – dramatic verses build, crashing choruses break – gets a real workout over the course of the album. The slow-moving “Spare Room” employs the same loud-quiet-loud style, but with less engaging results.

By contrast, songs like “Document” and “Heart String” have more of a standard pop vibe, and the album’s range of sound is fairly large. The title track begins as a folk rumination before gradually transforming into a mantra-like collage of sound formed by mesmerizing peals of guitar. Dappled strings stretch the listener’s aural palate in the melodramatic “Unnoticed,” and “Keep Me” is a piano-based ballad Most of the album’s songs have an impassioned, pleading bent, and “Keep Me” takes that feeling well into overdrive. The band doesn’t sway as heavy in the second half of the album, trending toward a tamer batch of material. “Fools Rush,” for example, has a swaying, rueful atmosphere that nearly dabbles in Irish music, and “Supersonic” is a simple, lively and hopeful chunk of middle-of-the-road pop. True Love Maze isn’t the most challenging or original piece of work, but the production is immaculate and the band’s vision impeccably executed.
Review by Bryan Rodgers
Rating: 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - Bryan Rodgers

To sum The Last Dark Show’s True Love Maze into a single genre would do this eclectic band’s sound an injustice. Drawing inspiration from the somber southern folk sound on “Someday Fossil,” which begins with a low humming that persists through this short track at 1:37, best sets the tone for this album in one word: emotional.

True Love Maze deals with various forms of love; unrequited, true love, and friendship. The lyrics to this album’s songs can be rather ambiguous, but that should not be seen as a detractor considering one’s interpretation of love may differ from another. This ambiguous nature forms a synergistic bond with the very talented musicianship of the band providing a strong individual atmospheric experience.

The album has a very crisp sound with high production value, with lead singer Troy Michael Petty’s vocals varying in pitch and vocal style from song to song but always sounding pleasant. The ability The Last Dark Show can harmonize vocally and seamlessly with their instruments can be heard on the album titled track “True Love Maze.” The songstarts off with a simple snapping of the fingers which leads into an ear-pleasing melody of Petty’s vocals, progressive rock, and keyboards. The progressive nature of this song can leave the listener with chills by the end of the 8 minutes and 35 seconds.

“Never Again Forever,” another standout track, deals with true love and heartbreak, and is one of the faster paced songs on the album taking on an alternative rock vibe. Starting off slow, it continues to build steam until it comes to a climatic crashing finish. The song to me, at least, and the way it builds, reflects the intensity of being deeply in love with someone and the riffs towards the end pick up an angry vibe denoting the pain of heartbreak.

The Last Dark Show is on a path; a very successful one. While they can maintain a pop vibe, very few pop songs can hold a candle to the emotions True Love Maze can invoke. An atmospheric individualistic experience, this is an album that builds steam and never lets up. Give this a listen, and you won’t be disappointed.



Key Tracks- True Love Maze, Never Again Forever, Supersonic

Justin Kaiser- MuzikReviews.com Contributor

March 26, 2011 - Justin Kaiser - MuzikReviews.com Contributor

To sum The Last Dark Show’s True Love Maze into a single genre would do this eclectic band’s sound an injustice. Drawing inspiration from the somber southern folk sound on “Someday Fossil,” which begins with a low humming that persists through this short track at 1:37, best sets the tone for this album in one word: emotional.

True Love Maze deals with various forms of love; unrequited, true love, and friendship. The lyrics to this album’s songs can be rather ambiguous, but that should not be seen as a detractor considering one’s interpretation of love may differ from another. This ambiguous nature forms a synergistic bond with the very talented musicianship of the band providing a strong individual atmospheric experience.

The album has a very crisp sound with high production value, with lead singer Troy Michael Petty’s vocals varying in pitch and vocal style from song to song but always sounding pleasant. The ability The Last Dark Show can harmonize vocally and seamlessly with their instruments can be heard on the album titled track “True Love Maze.” The songstarts off with a simple snapping of the fingers which leads into an ear-pleasing melody of Petty’s vocals, progressive rock, and keyboards. The progressive nature of this song can leave the listener with chills by the end of the 8 minutes and 35 seconds.

“Never Again Forever,” another standout track, deals with true love and heartbreak, and is one of the faster paced songs on the album taking on an alternative rock vibe. Starting off slow, it continues to build steam until it comes to a climatic crashing finish. The song to me, at least, and the way it builds, reflects the intensity of being deeply in love with someone and the riffs towards the end pick up an angry vibe denoting the pain of heartbreak.

The Last Dark Show is on a path; a very successful one. While they can maintain a pop vibe, very few pop songs can hold a candle to the emotions True Love Maze can invoke. An atmospheric individualistic experience, this is an album that builds steam and never lets up. Give this a listen, and you won’t be disappointed.



Key Tracks- True Love Maze, Never Again Forever, Supersonic

Justin Kaiser- MuzikReviews.com Contributor

March 26, 2011 - Justin Kaiser - MuzikReviews.com Contributor

As a popular local independent vocalist, Troy Michael Petty has been wooing Windy-City hipsters for over ten years. From an acoustic medium, Petty’s sound consistently resounds with the emphatic sentiment of a sensitive musician and conflicted soul in “emo rock” fashion. His distinctive, heartstrings-pulling verve—in combination with big his big brown eyes and dreamy boy-next door looks—has made Petty a regular, audience-packing headliner for Chicago underground music hubs like Double Door, Elbo Room and The Beat Kitchen.

Yet more than just a pretty face, Petty’s two indie CD releases—So the past Shall Past and Gemini—repeatedly receives positive praise. Such is the case with the Chicago Sun Times where the paper reports Petty as: “A potential visionary rather than just another self-reflective tunesmith.”

And in kind with that of said visionary, Petty has added his solo-perspective to a trio-based band dubbed The Last Dark Show. Newly imbued with national objectives on the cusp of the band’s debut CD release of True Love Maze, Petty shares his plans for taking his local one-man show to the mainstream stage.

PINK: What was it like going from solo artist to a trio band?

All along I have separated some material from the “electric rock” band sound and the more traditional “singer/songwriter” acoustic sound until recently. The album Gemini was an attempt to separate both sides of my musical palette into an “electric” and “acoustic” medium. The new band TLDS is a further compression of that idea.

PINK: What do the other band member’s bring to the stage other then what you performed as a solo artist?

They bring more dimension and character to the sound. Because I’ve been inspired to experiment more and more, these boys (Jay Will, Kent Vanderkolk) expand the possibilities of my musical intentions.

PINK: What’s the concept behind The Last Dark Show? How would you describe the band’s music on a whole?

The word “last” indicating a finality of some sort, whether for better or worse, to me implies new beginnings or hope. The Last Dark Show, to me, means so many things. For example: this is the last time I will be left in the dark or the last show/performance to be mis-understood or even the song “never again forever” from the new album. I could elaborate on this one forever (ironically?) because that’s exactly what it does to me. invokes so many different feelings involving the “last time…” fill in the blank…

The bands music puts all those feelings into my originally manifested musical vision. Very lyrical, soft and dreamy acoustic mixed with anxious rhythm and colorful guitar layers—dynamic and intense for a softer rock band, modest and intentional for a rock-n-roll band. My light description would be something like Placebo married to Red House Painters recently divorced by Jeff Buckley and cheating with ours. [Laughs]

PINK: What’s the working concept behind TLDS’s debut CD, True Love Maze? What songs stand out to you and why?

True Love Maze is questioning what true love is while being thrown into the maze of emotions in different relationships. Itdraws on different perspectives of true love, the answer to me is: having more questions than answers

We are currently on location shooting our first music video for the album. It’s for the song “Distant” The song implies the idea of “distant soul mates” coming together for the first time out of coincidence (or is it?). Although when they do meet, it feels serene, comfortable and magical. The premise of the video is a woman is taken out of her day-to-day routine from a mysterious invite to a show that somehow she feels is familiar. She follows that feeling to an old grand theater where she finds herself hearing/seeing her distant love and a symbol of their almost innate connection.

PINK: What’s next for Last Dark Show?

We are currently working on a 2011 campaign that will put us on the road and really showcase the new album live. That’s where we really shine. We are very proud of this album and are excited to finally start sharing it with the world. I have a long list of songs that have been waiting for the attention they deserve. So we plan on ducking into the studio throughout 2011 bringing to life these songs/ideas that will expand and open new doors musically for us.

For more emoting, music and emoting music visit www.troypettymusic.com and www.thelastdarkshow.com. - Jason P Freeman/Pink Magazine

Chicago ambient rockers Troy revisit the woozy heyday of the Verve and Jeff Buckley. Armed with a voice supplied by angels and some liquid guitar lines, Troy weaves a deft, introspective spell. While most shoegazers are content to stare at the ground, Troy's got a head in the clouds. - Download.com

Chicago ambient rockers Troy revisit the woozy heyday of the Verve and Jeff Buckley. Armed with a voice supplied by angels and some liquid guitar lines, Troy weaves a deft, introspective spell. While most shoegazers are content to stare at the ground, Troy's got a head in the clouds. - Download.com

" ..this 10-song collection by Troy Petty is haunting and evocative at its best, and somber
and sleepy at its worst. But it evinces a level of diversity and sophistication that
marks its auteur as a potential visionary rather than just another self-reflective
tunesmith." - JIM DeROGATIS POP MUSIC CRITIC - Chicago Sun-Times

" ..this 10-song collection by Troy Petty is haunting and evocative at its best, and somber
and sleepy at its worst. But it evinces a level of diversity and sophistication that
marks its auteur as a potential visionary rather than just another self-reflective
tunesmith." - JIM DeROGATIS POP MUSIC CRITIC - Chicago Sun-Times

"This local singer-songwriter, who is making his first splashes at clubs around Chicago, does tortured, beautiful boy music at its best. Almost every one of Past's odes is gorgeous and echoey, punctuated by enough eerie falsetto to make you melt many times over." - E. Lenhard - Chicago Magazine

"This local singer-songwriter, who is making his first splashes at clubs around Chicago, does tortured, beautiful boy music at its best. Almost every one of Past's odes is gorgeous and echoey, punctuated by enough eerie falsetto to make you melt many times over." - E. Lenhard - Chicago Magazine

By: Owen Jago
April 3, 2008
Based around the vocal talents and identity of Troy Michael Petty, the Chicago-based three-piece “troy” delivers a minimalistic yet hauntingly powerful alternative, softer rock experience. In addition to a continued presence on the live music scene since 2000, troy released the full length album ‘So The Past Shall Pass’ in 2001, followed ‘holloweenie 2003_, a six song EP in 2003. The double album ‘gemini’ was released in 2004/2005, and most recently ‘The Halloween Album’ in 2006. The 2005 single ‘I for One’ was also featured in the independent film ‘Black Days’.

Petty’s highly introspective lyrics reflect thoughts of love, isolation and the human spirit, presenting a thought-provoking emotional honesty. However, the true spell-binding grip of troy’s music comes from the interaction of Petty’s vocal abilities with the haunting melodies and soft reverbs provided by Petty, drummer Jay Will and bassist/pianist Joshua McCormack. Such is Petty’s vocal talent that it is easy to see the relevance of previous comparisons to Jeff Buckley. This is best demonstrated in the almost chilling and vocally dominated ‘All the wise men’.

Equally adept over electric or acoustic backing, in songs such as ‘Fable’ Petty’s vocals seamlessly weave into intense and entrancing guitars and rhythm. More frequently in tracks such as ‘I will miss you this Halloween’ and ‘Ride’, Petty exhibits a remarkable ability to create dynamic contrasts over low-key backgrounds that emphasise his lyrics and provide a raw yet subtle power very rarely found in this genre. This seemingly natural ability to create intensity ensures troy’s music remains uncomplicated, and allows them to deliver an introspective vision free from pretentiousness.
Unlike many softer rock bands that tend towards easy listening, troy have produced music of remarkable intensity and intrigue that envelopes listeners from the outset. Troy’s music is highly unique, and a must for fans of alternative rock.
- Owen Jago