Synth Single Review: “Darklight ’’ by Marc Matthews & INDIGO

Marc Matthews & INDIGO’s Darklight exudes shadow and loss as it evolves. The track starts as sweeping sounds move and the bass pulsates rapidly while a dreaming synth hovers with tentative sadness. The drums add a sharper element as the softly luminous synth shimmers and floats. A thudding kick drum and dense bass join into a propulsive beat that moves underneath INDIGO's silky whisper, her exhalations spectral and thready. The low end pulses while the shining synth drifts through the misty background.

A twirling arpeggio undulates as softly rounded notes trickle with gossamer smoothness while the drums and bass continue to interlock. Marc Matthews’ production creates a melancholy and layered listening experience. Chiming notes contribute lunar light as the arpeggio spins and INDIGO's wordless voice floats through the ether. As she repeats the words, I feel the pain and ghostly emptiness which pierces me to the heart.

The drums slowly build as the delicate notes weave a gem-lit web, and the bass thunders again while strings shade the music with melancholy. The drums keep up the tempo as open-voiced notes flicker through the emotive strings, filling my heart with pain in sympathy. Underneath it all, the low end continues to punch hard while fragile notes shimmer. The drums and bass fall away as a fluting sound wanders and silence falls.

The narrator speaks about being haunted by "phantoms in the dark." She says that "whispers leave a mark," as she adds that her heart is gripped by a shadow.