DarkCar: Spooked Horse – 2022

Review for DarkCar – Spooked Horse – Single – 2022

Facts:

Artist: DARKCAR
Country of Origin: USA, New York City
Personal: Ashley Selett (Vocals, Lyrics, Arrangements), David Terranova (Artwork, Fotos, Videos, Production)
Title: Spooked Horse
Label: Self-Distribution
Release Date: Nov. 02.2022
Genre: Slow Electronica
1 Track • 05m 48s

At qobuz available in Hi-res
24 Bits / 48 kHz – Stereo

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Review

On Wednesday, November 02, 2022, the highly talented electronic duo DarkCar from NYC, USA consisting of Ashley Selett and David Terranova released their second single “Spooked Horse”. The song is about a troubled soul who has spent her life growing up with horse breeding and the classic noble values. Now she is grappling with her life and the related question of how to gather the courage to find a path for herself towards completely different worlds of life that seem alien and scary to her.

However, I can’t get the crossroads out of my head at which the character now finds herself. I always have to think of the already classic scenes from the 1986 film “Crossroads” by Walter Hill, in which blues legend Robert Johnson slowly approaches the crossroads, pauses there and waits for the devil to make a deal with him.

Mute the original sound with the blues motifs and run “Spooked Horse” by DarkCar over it instead, also replace the male figure in the video with a female one, as Ashley sings about, and you’ll find that the Song “Spooked Horse” and the scene from the classic film match perfectly.

Spooked Horse (Lyrics)

She’s like a spooked horse
At a fork in the road
She doesn’t speak much
She bucks when she is alone

There are two full moons
Blooming in her wide eyes
She doesn’t speak much
For real eyes see lies

There are no answers
Only questions untold
She’s a wild flower
where she builds a home

So it goes
So it goes
The wind blows

She’s just a spooked horse
Just a spooked horse

For me “Spooked Horse” is not only the fear of unfamiliar ways and directions, but also the search for the right way, which direction should I choose in order not to sell my soul to the devil.
Astonishing, if not a little frightening, is for me also the fact that all that Ashley Selett sings about with her grandiose voice in coded verses and is dressed by David Terranova in a perfect, ultra-modern, electronic production garment, fits pretty much to my situation, without, however, wanting to maltreat you with further details.

The fearful, hesitant treading of unfamiliar new paths could also be described as a free fall in super slow motion that takes away your breath while you slowly float to the ground in this new world, staggering, and you find that the music of DarkCar catches you and gives you a feeling of protection despite all the musical mysticism.

Therefore, in my opinion, the description of DarkCar’s music, which is called dance (?) or downtempo by other critics, is simply wrong. If you take a look at the lyrics of “Spooked Horse”, you will notice that Ashley is actually singing about a classic blues theme, but David Terranova dresses it up in a futuristic psychedelic production garment. If you think I’ve gone too far now, just call it “Electronica” and anyone who is into DarkCar’s sound will give “Spooked Horse” another very individual attribute anyway.

About DarkCar

DarkCar is a highly talented electronic duo from NYC, USA, breaking new, unique and fascinating ground with their avant-garde experimental soundscapes. Ashley Selett’s haunting, atmospheric vocals have a dark, almost melancholic texture that are enhanced by David Terranova’s lush and ethereal production.

The melodic multi-layered electronic arrangements are unique and thoroughly daring (“Spooked Horse” features transverse flute lines and plenty of ambient noise as well). The song structures are cinematic, making them accessible to any inclined listener and potential fan of DarkCar whose musical taste is far from the usual well-out sound structure paths.

Ashley and David produced and designed the song “Spooked Horse” and all the artwork, including the photos by themselves. Ashley writes all the lyrics and melodies, while David does most of the production. Together they are a perfectly matched production duo.

Rating

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My Testequipment:

Studio 1 (High End):

• 2 x System Audio SA Mantra 50 (front)
• 1x System Audio SA Mantra 10 AV (center)
• 2x System Audio SA Legend 5 (Rear)
• 1 x System Audio Saxo 10 (Subwoofer)
• 4 x Onkyo SKH-410 (B) (Dolby Atmos)
• Auralic Altair (Audio Streaming Client mit max. 32 Bit / 384 kHz)
• NVIDIA Shield Pro mit Plex, Kodi (max 192 kHz für  Audio, Tidal (MQA Streaming Client)
• AppleTV 4K (Streaming Client) Dolby Atmos, HDR, Dolby Vision
• Amazon Cube 4K (Streaming Client) Dolby Atmos (restricted), HDR, Dolby Vision
• Panasonic DP-UB9004 (4K UHD Player) Dolby Atmos, HDR, Dolby Vision
• Oppo UDP-203 (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Player) Dolby Atmos, HDR, Dolby Vision
• Yamaha CX-A5100 (Preamp) 4K, Dolby Atmos, Hi-res
• Yamaha MX -A5000 (Power Amp)
• Sony KD-55A1 (TV) 4K OLED, HDR, Dolby Vision

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