Darren Foley & The Luminescence

Album Review - The Walleye - January 2025

Once Darren Foley picked up the guitar, he never put it down. Since the age of 15, he's been writing, playing, and performing music of different genres with multiple bands and as a solo artist. He's toured across Canada, but his latest collaborative project, recorded with his band the Luminescence, self-titled Darren Foley and the Luminescence, was recorded very close to home-in Albert's Workshop, his home recording studio. The album's nine songs (though a 10th will be added in the digital version) were cherry-picked from a whopping 45 pieces composed over the span of roughly 100 sessions between December 2023 to August 2024. The result is shoegaze-psych-rock goodness that nods to the trio's early influences like Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, and Cocteau Twins.

The Luminescence, made up of Adam Moreau on the drums and Mike Wheeler on bass and vocals, seamlessly come together with their singer and guitarist to deliver a collection of ambient tracks that flow effortlessly from one to another. "Thematically, they're all sort of interconnected," says Foley. "A lot of the songs are autobiographical, so it's very personal. I think [they evoke] promise or optimism, but it's also a yin and yang. There's desire in there, little self pity, but also perhaps redemption. All types of ideas, but it's just in my own little micro-universe." The instrumentals in "Memories of June" sway and swirl in a dance with its resounding lyrics, and the drums in "Aftermath" kick the tempo up a notch, ultimately blending into the backdrop of haze. "I just love lush guitars and really dreamy vocals," says Foley about an album with no such shortage.

Darren Foley and the Luminescence came out December 14, and was welcomed into the world with an album release event held at Definitely Superior Art Gallery, with opening act Forced in to Machines and featuring video and art projections. The album is available for download through Bandcamp and has been pressed for purchase on a mere 100 vinyls, the cover for which was painted by Foley in acrylic as a visual representation of four songs off the LP.

With such an eclectic musical career, there's no telling what the future will hold, but Foley hopes to continue on as an artist and performer, especially at festivals. "It's something that I enjoy doing," he says. "I love expressing myself."