Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? by The Black Swans

"Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You?" is a distinguished anthem for the slow procession of late afternoons spent in a rotting cabin worrying about the overdue rent, as well as spiritual debt."

- William Bowers, Pitchfork

"Keen, insightful and moving ... a voice that carries within it all the weight and loss of broken love."

- Thom Jurek, Allmusic.com

"The Black Swans swoop in with Who Will Walk In The Darkness With You? to deliver a full package of mysterious folk rock. The guitar work is captivating and the unique lead vocals are the quivering voice of a poet ... If you listen to The Black Swans be prepared for something quiet, dark, lonely, and refreshingly original."

- Jared St. Martin Brown, 1340mag.com

"Who Will Walk in the Darkness With You? is a violin-laced epic that crawls along at a heartbroken tempo, just barely buoyed by the dark vocals of Jerry DeCicca."

- Tizzy Asher, Seattle PI

"Twilight, hazy and austere, with unexpected details revealed in the half-light ... serene, sad and beautiful."

- Michael Toland, Highbias.com

"It's not exactly 'Love Under the Lime Tree,' but for those who prefer the gray, Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? is the feel-bad hit of the winter."

- Paul V. Griffith, The Nashville Scene

The Black Swans released their debut album Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? in the U.S. in November 2004, courtesy of the Nashville label, Delmore Recording Society.

The Black Swans make a sound slow, dark and lush. They perform in a variety of decibels and sizes, scraping away at an emotional and sonic landscape as disparate as Roxy Music, Townes Van Zandt, and Pink Floyd.

Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? functions as a collection of musical vignettes where characters negotiate how to get along in the world with and without the person to whom they feel closest. Rarely acknowledging gender, the lyrics have a purposeful drift, playing out strained, washed-out moments similar to early Kris Kristofferson or the confessional fragments of Robert Creeley. Guilt and doubt run through the songs, but they are ultimately ethereal and elegiac. The songs are dialogues, existential and gray, spoken when the clock ticks slow; their subjects are companionship, intimacy and resigned acceptance.

"And if these walls had wings

And flew away with everything

We could sail into the sea

With the wind and the leaves"

(from "The Raft")

The songs on Who Will Walk in the Darkness with You? were written by The Black Swans' singer/acoustic guitarist, Jerry DeCicca, and enveloped by the swirl of violin, electric guitar, piano, bass and drums.

The Black Swans have played shows with Richard Buckner, Crooked Fingers, Michael Hurley, Willard Grant Conspiracy, Jeb Loy Nichols, Jack Rose, Laura Veirs, Damon and Naomi, the Schramms, Chris Brokaw and many other good people.

In the last year, the Black Swans have performed at SXSW, CMJ, NXNE, and played dozens of dates in the south, northeast, northwest, and west coast.

Jerry DeCicca wrote the liner notes for the Casual Records release Country Soul Revue. He works as a balloon sculptor named Dr. Silverfoot in Columbus, Ohio.

Delmore Recordings operates in Nashville, Tennessee and has released music from diverse artists like Lawrence Ferlinghetti, High Llamas, as well as Real: the Tom T. Hall Project, a tribute featuring Johnny Cash, Richard Buckner, Iris Dement, Whiskeytown, Calexico, Ron Sexsmith, and others.

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