Whole rooms start doing the dance without being shown how. From Switzerland to Cincinnati, crowds hear ‘Midnight Creep’ and just move, like the ghosts of old 45s are pulling them around by the hips. That’s the power of The Darts, Seattle’s all-women garage-punk four-piece, who count Dave Vanian, Stephen King and Jello Biafra among their fans. Their new LP Halloween Love Songs drops March 3 on Adrenalin Fix Music, and we caught up with vocalist and organist Nicole Laurenne to talk prison gigs, medieval tapestries and why ‘Monster Mash’ can’t be the only Halloween anthem for eternity.
Who are you and where are you from?
Nicole: I am Nicole Laurenne, hailing originally from the Chicago area, longtime resident of Phoenix, Arizona, and now based in Seattle, Washington. Yes, we move around a lot in the USA. I am the lead singer and organist for garage-punk band The Darts (US) and also heading up my jazz-trip-hop-neo-soul solo project Black Viiolet.
How did the band form?
Nicole: The Darts formed from the ashes of my previous band, The Love Me Nots, which was based in Phoenix and toured the world for about a decade. When that band dissolved, the bassist and I decided it was time to form the all-girl garage band we had always dreamed of. So, taking our cues from Thee Trashwomen and April March, I brought on two more great musicians from Los Angeles and we never looked back. We were signed to Dirty Water Records (UK) within about six months.
How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you?
Nicole: Someone recently described us as “spooky kittens playing garage-punk in a basement dive bar at top volume” or something like that, and that’s pretty accurate. We never want to take ourselves too seriously, but the musicians are top-notch, the songs are catchy and riff-y, the fuzz and organ sounds are unique but also a direct homage to ’60s garage sounds, and the shows are incredible sweaty chaotic experiences.
What bands have shaped what you do?
Nicole: The Seeds, The Animals, Thee Trashwomen, Dead Weather, Death Valley Girls, Stiff Richards, April March, The Cramps, Nick Cave.
What’s the one song of yours people should hear first?
Nicole: A good start is our new single ‘Midnight Creep’, which shows the kitsch-y spooky fun side of the band, followed by ‘Apocalypse’, which was just released this week and introduces the listener to our heavier, harder, organ-fuelled, darker side.
Tell us a story about your band?
Nicole: We played at Barlinnie Prison in Edinburgh, Scotland. They had us play not only in the prison, but in the chapel. I was performing on the actual altar, with the sun streaming through the stained glass behind me and two hundred uniformed prisoners in chairs in front of me. They were stunned. I was alternately shocked and trying hard not to break out in hysterical laughter at the whole scene. Afterwards, the warden told us it was the best show they’d had there and gave us pizza in the staff room. Unforgettable.
What’s been your best gig so far?
Nicole: Too many to list, but my personal favourite was playing at Binic Folk & Blues Festival in France last summer, which is a gorgeous festival right on the sea. It was packed with fans who sang along. I crowd-surfed right next to the water by the beach on top of this crazy rocking crowd, and then the merch lines took hours to satisfy. It was glorious, and that is just one of too many similar experiences to list. I am so very grateful to be able to do this.
What’s the music scene like where you’re based?
Nicole: Seattle is really unique. Of course, it has a deep musical history, not just the ’90s grunge but bands like The Sonics and The Wailers and Jimi Hendrix were from here too. The scene feeds on itself, creating incredible levels of talent, from Grammy winners to punk DIY kids, and everywhere you go there are venues of all kinds. Need a drummer? If you’re good, you’ve got ten right in front of you. Everyone plays in each other’s bands and goes to each other’s shows. It is so supportive. I have never seen a scene like this anywhere else that I have been. It was one of the reasons I moved here. It inspires me so much.
Tell us the story behind your track ‘Apocalypse’?
Nicole: I wrote ‘Apocalypse’ a couple of years ago in the van right after seeing the famous medieval apocalypse tapestry in Angers, France. The tapestry is huge, covering the walls of an entire room in a castle, and tells the story not only of human and royal destruction but also the gods’ version of deliverance and, I guess, like a massive do-over. It was that message I left with: the feeling that even if everything burns down, we can celebrate, and we should. The tapestry shows a lot of royalty being destroyed and I wrote “no future, no kings” that very day as I left the castle.
Before the song was even recorded, “no kings” coincidentally became a rallying protest cry in the USA. We started playing the song live last year as a result of that coincidence and people came to merch asking where to buy the song. When we recorded it, Gretsch Guitars used an instrumental version in its latest advertisement. Now the song is released and I am so thrilled it is getting the response I was hoping for. I think people understand my message, maybe.
Tell us about your new album?
Nicole: Halloween Love Songs started out after an interview I did with Rock n Folk in Paris in 2024, when the journalist and I were joking that the world needed a new Halloween anthem, that ‘Monster Mash’ could not be the only one out there for eternity. So I started writing Halloween-themed songs. First they were about monsters and all the delicious kitsch of the holiday, but then I noticed several songs were darker and heavier, more about the rebellious, mischief-night, devil-be-damned side of the night. So Side A is for the monster kitsch and Side B is for the late-night bonfires. The album comes out March 3 and then we will embark on a world tour covering the USA, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and the UK, which will basically take us from March through December.
What’s next for you?
Nicole: In August we will be back in the studio, in between tour legs as always, to record the next Darts record. Lindsay Scarey, our bassist, is also an incredible songwriter. She and I collaborated on ‘Midnight Creep’, so we wrote this next album together in no time at all. It’s going to be another special one and we will have Heather Thomas on drums for the recordings and for lots of the upcoming tours, so that will add a new lively element to the whole mix. I am also very busy touring and recording my solo project Black Viiolet, which will also tour the USA, Europe and the UK this spring and summer.
![The Darts US - "Midnight Creep" [Official Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/itmm1CMg_yQ/hqdefault.jpg)
Where can people find you?
www.thedartsus.com has everything you need, including links to all of our social media and their mailing list sign-up.
Anything else you want people to know?
Nicole: For the past two years, The Darts have been making inroads into the UK on tour and we have had the absolute best time doing it. Each year brings bigger and better shows and festivals. We can’t wait to come back this autumn!