ddd

"a strange and unique kind of pop perfection. 5/5"

"DDD makes distorted, lo-fi acoustic guitar rattling over slight and faint backing, with a wild voice crawling through fuzz to reach a strange and unique kind of pop perfection.
These two songs are full of timing changes and odd pauses, overloaded with personality, creativity and ambition... apparently DDD's approach to recording is meticulous and perfectionist, which makes the ramshackle lo-fi-ness of these songs all the more intriguing. He wanted it to sound exactly like this? Cool!
DDD is a singer/songwriter that instantly stands out from the pack."
- www.drownedinsound.com

"Wonky genius, 5/5"

"The debut single from ddd is a 2 track cd single and it's a very odd affair. it's dirty, lo-fi, messed up and has the same appeal as the jawbone album. this could have easily been released in the golden age of diy / messthetics in the late 70's and that is a big compliment."
- Rough Trade UK Website

"a breathlessly in your face performance that you’d do well not to turn your nose up at. A scorching debut..."

"This fell into our laps with a press release attached describing the initial wonders of the ensuing row as being met with puzzlement to the point of the barely audible muttering of ‘what the fuck was that?’ Of course we here wholehearted agree because when you first force feed this baby into the CD player you are numbed momentarily because of its sheer unabashed audacity that soon dissolves and switches to a growing curiosity akin to a child whose just figured out that the odd cute chuckle is a cure all protection for almost all bouts of naughtiness.

This is the debut release for both artist and label – ddd / one hundred records and pretty nifty it is to. To kith and kin ddd is better known as Darryl Woollaston who offersa spot of solo squalling lo-fi pop. ‘Can’t explain’ is as rough as a bear’s arse, a sonic equivalent of picking away at sores but with moments of borderline psychotic rawness thrown in for good measure – which instantly makes for pure listening pleasure here over at the Losing Today listening shed.
Armed with just a guitar Woollaston steps up for a spot of healthy primal therapy, initially starting out cautiously, once comfortable in his surroundings the pace soon picks up turning the pitch up a notch, frantically strummed chords become something of a secondary side issue in the wake of the emotion channelling feverishly fraught vocal display that tears up the sidewalk below. Backed by ‘Hard to talk to’ which proves to be equally caustic though housed with a more tolerant dynamic, a breathlessly in your face performance that you’d do well not to turn your nose up at. A scorching debut it has to be said."
-Mark@losingtoday.com
- (www.losingtoday.com)

"Didn't know what to expect from this one - first release on a new label by a musician I've never heard of. A familiar situation, sure. But every once in a while all this digging leads to gold... rasping, rattling acoustic guitar, a wild voice drowned in beautiful fuzz, and two priceless, catchy, loose and brilliant songs... the first release from One Hundred Records is a complete success, and I'll be keenly awaiting what comes next." - www.brainlove.co.uk

"a stripped down fever of a song..."

"A self-confessed oddity, ddd releases his debut single “Can’t Explain” (Onehundredrecords). The vocals are like a twisted mixture of Jeff Buckley and Bryan Ferry, but to an unexpectedly satisfying end.
It’s not so much alt.country as a stripped down fever of a song and even the static that blocks the more delicate bits of the song couldn’t hide the waves of potential that are buried beneath it. With less lo-fi surroundings, this could be extraordinary."
-Karen Piper - www.thestereoeffect.com

"potent stuff, music that'll set fires..."

"...'Can't explain' is a fuzzy, fucked-up expression of anger at what words can't express, while "Hard to Talk To" slices up dysfunctional conversations. "I say something / you hear nothing," ddd repeats, before garbling the rest of the lines so they're impossible to understand. Both songs tackle the death of communication while shredding instruments and sounds. Ddd shrieks like an especially ticked-off, nightmare version of Thom Yorke over a mash-up of raggedy acoustic guitars. It's potent stuff, music that'll set fires."
-Dave Heaton
- www.erasingclouds.com

"short acoustic blasts of raw attitude and undeniable talent..."

"His music has come as somewhat of a relevation to me over the past days and is the kind of distorted lo-fi acoustic ramblings that you would have expected to hear from Spoon or Love As Laughter a few years ago. Of course, the vocals are far more warped and strained here, and Darryl Woollaston's exuberant manic ramblings and spikey guitars lend themselves more to punk rock than indie, but it's certainly something i'd like to hear more of. Check it out for yourselves. Well, that is if you like short acoustic blasts of raw attitude and undeniable talent. Just nod your head, eh?"
Mr Hood - 11/05/2005
- Throwawaystyle Webzine