Words by Donna Borges
October 27, 2025
Long Beach art-rockers Darcy Court have taken a darker turn on their new EP Omnibus. I’ve been a fan since their debut album My Bouquet of Memories; a sonically brighter release with light and bouncy guitar riffs and folksy twang. The release of Omnibus marks their descent into a moodier tone, which suits the band much more in my opinion. The record is, as its title entails, a collection of stories; each track focuses on a different tale of a loss of innocence and the realization that life is not at all what we thought it would be.
The title track sets the mood. Reverberating guitars and steady drums slowly build throughout the song, creating a sprawling soundscape that invokes an anxious sense of doom. Suspicion and secrecy are at the forefront of the story, with torn pages of a diary and mysterious men. “Yellow” follows, painting a picture of death that is light and peaceful in comparison to the gloominess of life: “Death wasn’t dark it was shades of yellow.” The only single from the EP, “Yellow” carries the message that we can only find peace from the hard parts of life in death.
Meandering through the desperate thoughts of someone trying to find meaning in their life, “800 Wasps” grasps at straws for answers that will never come. It does a great job of emulating how it feels to overthink yourself into a corner with dizzying progressions and fuzzy guitars. “Rocking Chair” frees us from the dizziness with a straightforward indie sound with bouncy riffs and bass lines.
Contrasting the purity of youth with the reality of adult life, “Backyard” warns us that the people we love can change, like seeing an old friend become someone unrecognizable. We shame ourselves for being so naive: “You should have known better than that”
“Cherry” sums up the ways we cope with these reluctant discoveries by searching for what we had in the past. Our loss of innocence has led to the desperation to return to better days, but as summed up in the song: “You can’t live in memories passed / You seem defined by what one was and what’s been left behind / Gone are those times”
Given the volatility of our current reality, Omnibus is an homage to our collective feelings of disillusionment. This release reaches new depths of authenticity for Darcy Court and actualizes their poetic storytelling.
Give Omnibus a listen and keep up with the band here.
