Darrian Gerard might be the next punk rocker messiah. Her songs have massive Bikini Kill and X energy, from vocals to instrumentals, everything is on high wattage. It would be a miracle to hear her live, owing to the kind of performances she gives in her recordings. Today we listen to her EP, Basement Stadium.

Being a complete home studio artist is no easy task. Everything is in your hands, including how the music feels. Darrian Gerard has her basement stadium packed, if she’s executing songs this way. The distortion on the guitars and her appeal is insane, especially with her opening track Explosion. She goes for a slow opening, and for a punk rocker, that is performance haven. Her riffs push towards a catchy chorus that you’d definitely be singing along to. 

You might find the second title a little misleading. It is called Powerless, but it pushes the envelope for the most annihilating essence of sound. As it organically builds, I can imagine hoards of rock lovers clapping along to the beat. The vocals interact very smoothly with the guitars, and layers galore. One of the most well written tracks lyrically and arrangement wise as well. Everybody’s Mad At Me is the rebels lament. Darrian Gerard is an expert in getting a slow, solid opening that has a firework chorus section with plenty of overflow. It is a great way of bringing in pop flavours but retaining the core principle of punk rock/rock. 

Hear it echo

As we reach Backseat Driver, you feel a whole different texture to the tone. This is a pleasant surprise, where you can’t put her love for genres in a box. The chorus comes in pretty early, making for a catchy track. It is important not to pander with over-the-top instrumentals as well. It is top quality content with no seconds on the track meter wasted. As we close this energetic EP, we approach her most popular track. Old Wounds has an emotional core, the ink spilling into the instrumentals. The virtual reflections are almost inundating, for we never know the kind of vocal route she’ll take with her songs. Darrian Gerard is not only the snippet of the modern musician, but someone who had their first love in music.

I’d love to see this reprised in Smithereens, which is a movie released in 1982, but has all the energy Darrian brings to her music. Tailored to perfection in sound and production as well, she is an all-rounder music buff who will continue to make fun but meaningful music. Joan Jett has already got reincarnated, and this one resonates with the new generation of die-hard music fans. Don’t forget to follow her on Spotify for more superb music coming your way!