REVIEW: Darker Lighter – ‘Darker Lighter’

After years working behind the curtain for some of rock’s biggest icons, Salar Rajabnik steps into the spotlight under the moniker Darker Lighter, delivering his hotly-tipped self-titled debut LP. His first full-length release, arriving May 2, is a raw, electrified punch to the gut, filled with bruised reflections and hard-won revelations.

Tracked at the famed Studio 606 with Grammy-nominated producer Robert Adam Stevenson guiding the sessions, Rajabnik performs every instrument himself, creating a tightly wound landscape that brims with urgency and tapered beauty in equal measure.

Themes of alienation, resilience, and personal reckoning ripple through every track. Whether confronting the pressures of identity or the emotional wreckage left in heartbreak’s wake, Rajabnik delivers each word with a conviction that refuses to blink or back down. His lyricism cuts to the bone, especially when addressing the steep toll authenticity often demands.

Earlier singles like ‘Hanging On’, ‘Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be The Same Again’ and ‘Someday Soon’ showcased Rajabnik’s gift for weaving hope and sorrow together in a way that feels both massive and achingly intimate. On the full album, those threads expand outward, drawing us into a complex but cathartic journey.

This is the sound of an artist kicking the doors open on his own terms, delivering something raw, relentless, and ready to set fire to the rulebook. Darker Lighter is introducing himself to the world with his fists raised and heart wide open.