“I saw Brian crowd-surfing on some people/But there was no band at all.” That’s Peter Rynsky, singer of Darlings, at the outset of “Eviction Party,” a splash of lo-fi elegance that, like most Darlings songs, squeezes meaning from the inconsequential. On its winning debut album “Yeah I Know” (Famous Class), this young New York band — Mr. Rynsky, the guitarist Joe Tirabassi, the keyboardist Maura Lynch and the drummer Matt Solomon — plays casually rendered garage-pop that’s masking an arched eyebrow: they’re all working harder than they appear to be. Among the best here is “Friends Forever,” a dry love letter that’s part surf-rock, part musical theater. “I can’t wait to see your skinny legs again,” Mr. Rynsky sings, “because we’re more than friends/and I need you.” During the unprintable chorus, the affair moves from the park to a literal dark room to a metaphorical one. “Don’t make me get down on my knees,” Mr. Rynsky sings, though it sounds like he wouldn’t mind.

- Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 6 September 2009

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/arts/music/06play.html?_r=1&ref=arts