If you promise not to tell, I'm going to tell you a secret: my memory isn't what it used to be. TMI, literally. I've been at this so long and have read so many emails and seen so many fashion sites and listened to so much music, I can't remember whether or not I've covered Darker My Love yet.

While I'm pretty sure I have, I don't remember in what capacity. I stumbled back on them today from Silversun Pickups MySpace -- both bands are on Dangerbird Records -- and remembered how fucking amazing this band is and asked myself why they're not huge. I just remebered the live set I listened to from the studio at KCRW's indie music show Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Though they come from all over the U.S. – Andy and Tim Presley from the Bay Area, Jared Everett from Pennsylvania, Rob Barbato from Boston and Will Canzoneri from Mississippi – they all came up through the same portal: back room and basement shows, forgettable bands and passion they can't shake. For one, it was 45-minute drives through rural Pennsylvania to some stenchy hellhole of a basement to see five local bands; for another it was cruising BART at 16 to get to Gilman Street in Berkeley to see Swingin' Utters. Over in Boston, Rob was soaking up Grateful Dead, briefly trying on a jazz habit. Five guys, four cities, one conclusion: they'd been infected by rock and roll.

Read their full bio on Dangerbird's site. Don't forget to read their Wiki, test drive a few songs on MySpace (start with Northern Soul, Blue Day, and Talking Words to hear them at their best), check out their official site/blog, and while you're at it, check out Dangerbird's MySpace to hear who else is on the label.