DARA is an apotheosis of pure artistic vision and compositional facility that produces fusions both memorable and palatable for anyone who has ever so much as listened to, and enjoyed, the sound of a guitar. The first track epitomizes disillusionment and vehemence with its abrasive lyrics and uncompromising power-chord churning fuzz-box distortion and emphatic drumbeats, which complement the musical virtuosity of the piece and the slapdash-elegance with which it is delivered.  The garage-band sentiment is permeated with an eclectic mix of motifs; one can hear traces of Celtic and Arabic amidst the sea of hard-rocking angst. The uplifting surge of the harmonically synthesized instrumentation is optimally infused with the steady drone of jazzy electric leads, an amalgamation all too fitting of a musician conversant in multi-genre playing (His previous musical exploits included the Hogtie Sessions.) The transition from song to song is also intuitive. Yet beneath the façade of unbridled rage and seething distorted intensity, there is an overarching musical sensitivity that provides the otherwise chaotic album with a great measure of coherency and eloquence; and behind the cacophonous din there lies a pervading sense of the avant-garde.  The tracks are duly heterogeneous, progressing from tumultuous and miasmatic grunge to the early seventies’ smoky pungency of Sabbath to the whimsical tones of Beatles psychedelia. In spite of these comparisons, the album is unequivocally original, a quality found few and far between in the increasingly homegonous waves of contemporary music.  The songs are often atmospheric, producing an ambiance that is characterized largely by their unreserved passion.