American Darling Valve are the Miami based duo of Ariele Macadangdang and Bryan Dubrow. The duo formed back in 2016 with the aim of finding an outlet for their personal musical stylings. The result is a sound of contrasts; Ariele’s delicate voice and subtle violin playing, supported by the darker and more intense style of Bryan’s guitar playing. The duo are set to release their new EP shortly, and today we’re premiering the first taste of it, beauty:broken.

With a nod to the solo work of Owen Pallett, beauty:broken is built around Ariele’s pizzicato violin plucking, which latterly gives way to Bryan’s cyclical guitar patterns. Despite it’s relatively minimal instrumentation beauty:broken is a quietly intense affair; Bryan’s guitar slowly building in volume and depth as Airiel’s perfect, folk-tinged vocals soar and flutter the quiet crescendo of sound, evoking a less electronic version of Cross Record.

Lyrically, it seems to touch on the dichotomy of a difficult relationship, the ability of another to be at once the most important and least helpful person in your life. Ariele sings, “you keep me close to feel complete, I’m not enough, on my own but you’d rather be numb than face this alone”. The track’s ultimate conclusion is one not just of the person in question, but perhaps of humanity in general, as Ariele contemplatively concludes, “beauty, broken, human”.

beauty:broken is a hugely impressive, and mature, debut, recalling the far more established ilk of Alela Diane or Laura Veirs. This accomplished and ambitious beginning can only bode well for wherever American Darling Valve’s music is going next.

American Darling Valve’s self-titled EP is out September 27th. Click HERE for more information on the band.