When I chatted with Mike Baum of Olive Dares the Darkness a few months ago, he mentioned that the band’s second album was nearly complete. Turns out he wasn’t kidding. Released in December, II finds the band exploring an aggressive, bluesy, rootsy brand of synth-rock that complements the 80s-inflected tone of their first outing quite spectacularly. Curious as always to learn more, I reached out and this time had the opportunity to speak with the band’s frontwoman, Becca Darling.

The Olive Dares the Darkness press kit says that you’re incensed to call yourself the band’s frontwoman. Why is that? 

OK, let’s be clear about one thing.  I don’t actually do any of the publicity for the band. That’s how much of a front woman diva that I am. I’m like a Wish version of Mariah Carey. I never called myself a front woman, but if that’s what our PR minions want to name me, then so be it. I will gladly take on that title. 

It also mentions that you’re a minor celebrity in the US Virgin Islands. Can you say more about that?

I spent six years playing music and bartending in the Virgin Islands. I lived on St. Thomas, and attended the University of the Virgin Islands where I got my music education degree. While I was there, I played in quite a few different bands. It was a bit of a big fish in a small sea situation, but I had a great time doing it. The crowds down there let me stretch my musical wings, and I learned a lot about myself as a writer and a musician. 

And you performed with Stevie Wonder?

Yeah, that’s a really random freakish story. I had a standing Monday night gig at a small bar on Bolongo Beach in St. Thomas. As we were playing through our dinner set, Stevie Wonder and his family walked in. We were explicitly told not to mention anything, so I didn’t bring any attention to him. However, my band at the time covered one of his songs, “Living for the City.” I called the song and we played it. I looked towards his table for his response, but I got none. We started playing “House of the Rising Sun” after that, and he sauntered up to the stage with his harmonica. He joined us on harmonica for that song, and a few others. Ironically enough, Dave Mason of the band Traffic was also in the crowd that evening. He got up and jammed with us as well. It made the front page of the local paper. I was dumbfounded for a week straight. In case anyone is wondering, Stevie Wonder was gracious, complementary, and a total gem. He’s a kick ass person. He didn’t have to come up and play with us, but he did. 

That’s wild! Shifting gears, “Not My Fault,” the first single from your new album, explores the harm caused by unbridled ambition. What inspired it?

Wow, you really nailed the overall theme of that song. Way to put your literary skills to work! I was hoping no one would ask this question, but here we are. Sometimes I write stories, and sometimes songs are deeply personal. This is one of the latter. I had cancer in 2017, and most cancer survivors will tell you that there is some anxiety about the cancer returning. My husband and I recently fostered a 16-year-old child. The song is written from the foster child’s perspective. I had to get out of my own head and into his to really understand the situation. I had said to him during an argument that I need to watch my stress levels, as I feared that would contribute to a recurrence of cancer.  At some point, he decided he didn’t care, hence the hook “Take what I need, cause baby I’m your cancer.”

Your press kit describes the song as “almost an afterthought in the album’s creation,” yet it’s also the lead single. How did that happen? 

Songwriting is a dynamic process, and some songs come very easily, and some are very laborious. This past summer was very prolific for Mike and I. There are two songs that we followed our “formula” for, and banged them out pretty quickly.  “Not my Fault” is one of them.  The situation that the song was created out of was still very fresh, and I knew that mindset wouldn’t last long.  Mike wrote the first verse, and then I wrote the rest. The poppy sing-song nature of the track just added to the sarcastic undertones. The song is soaked in self deprecation, and I’m kind of into self-loathing as a hobby, so it was a fun song to write. 

Was “Not My Fault” the “missing piece,” as it were? Did it bring everything else on the album into focus? 

Absolutely. It’s interesting that it is the last song that we wrote for the album. We knew the album needed strong singles, and we weren’t expecting this one. We love to sit down and write easily accessible tunes, and it’s a great home base for us. It allows us to experiment texturally outside of our traditional domain. Experimental songs like” Mr. Sorry,” and even “Get Back” would seem homeless without the single to tie our sound together.

How do you think the band’s sound has evolved from your first album to the second?

I think this album has given us the opportunity to identify our sound, but also blow up any stereotypes associated with that sound. Our band members come from a wide array of backgrounds. The drummer listens almost exclusively to musical theater and drum corps music. It’s absolutely infuriating. I have no idea how we come together and make music that people actually like, but somehow we make it all fit. From Danielle’s expertly arranged horn lines in “Get Back,” to the overly complicated progressive guitar riffs by Mike in “Mr. Sorry,” to the thumping ever-present narrative of Mr. Minister’s bass lines; we have been able to go beyond the realm of our own creativity. Our collaboration has take it on a creative life force of its own, and it’s been fun to live in it. 

A goat appears on each of your album covers as well as on the remix compilation 1.R. How does that imagery relate to your music or to the driving force or spirit behind Olive Dares the Darkness?

I mean, at its simplest, we are all elder goths, who continue to wallow in our own self-pity and gorge on goth-themed art. On a more complex level, the goat and its seeing eye represent the dark forces that invade our lives. How you live with your darkness, and what you choose to let people see is really up to you. Olive, the representative symbol of hope, balances these aspects. Opposites endure, and these are themes that are continuously explored in our music and our lives. 

The band has been together since 2014. What keeps you going?

Life can be profoundly miserable. The fact that we have found each other, and are able to creatively enmesh with each other is truly a gift. I had to kiss a lot of frogs to find my princes, but I have found them. We satisfy each other musically, and we also have a lot of respect for each other as individuals and as musicians. We’re not in this for the fame game.  We are just thrilled that we can write together, and that people actually pay $10 to come see us play. 

And what’s on the horizon?

More feelings, more heartaches, more ups and downs, more joyous occasions, more glamorous creations, more upsetting defeats. With that, there will certainly be more music to write… 

Thanks for taking the time to talk to me! 

Oh no…thank you.