Daniel Hart’s eclectic resume points towards his collaborative nature. The Dallas native earned a music degree at SMU and cut his chops in a jazz band as a violinist. Soon, Hart was lending his talents to St. Vincent, the Polyphonic Spree, John Vanderslice, and Broken Social Scene while sharing bills with Radiohead and Andrew Bird. Several well-received solo albums followed, but even with the local praise, Hart missed the alchemy of a band. He soon formed Dark Rooms and took a stylistic detour. While his solo work showed off his orchestral prowess–sounding at times like a more classically-trained Of Montreal–Dark Rooms takes Hart’s craft for composition and dips it in darkness. “Beyond The Lens,” from the band’s self-titled debut, takes its cues from moody electro-pop, with Hart’s strong voice front-and-center. Catch Dark Rooms at Red 7 tonight with Austin’s Orthy.
–Art Levy
