Radiant Darling

Radiant Darling originated as a project between Chicago singer-songwriter Ami Saraiya, formerly of the unfortunately named Pelvic Delta, and guitarist/programmer Scott Blackburn. Saraiya, a folkie at heart with a striking voice akin to a gypsy Björk trying to out-jazz recent Ani Difranco, formed the group to accommodate her growing interest in disparate genres the world around — the culmination of which surfaces on Cryptomnesia in a singular culmination of Indian and Western folk, experimental jazz, amateur electronic and intricately-arranged pop. Saraiya’s voice ties most of the genre balancing and myth-heavy lyrical content together, pushing the highlights, like Django Reinhardt remake "Tears” and Sarah Slean-does-space-cabaret oddity "Otherside” — over the top. That said, it doesn’t always come together with such ease, and though artists could have more problems on their hands than having too many ideas, Radiant Darling are going to need more time before their genre-mashing angle matures from a promising start to a single, powerful statement. As is, there’s just too much going on, too many genres in the mix and not enough focus to comfortably channel even 30 minutes of a great band struggling, however successfully, to find their sound.