Genre: Punk
Hometown: Seattle, WA

THE DARTS (US), now based in Seattle, Washington, formed in 2016 with the goal of making great all-grrl garage-rock, seeing the world, and having a fab slumber party every night. The four women threw on vintage black slips, kicked off their shoes, and set out on the adventure. In the first year, the band put out two self-produced EPs and signed with Dirty Water Records (UK), which then released the first full-length vinyl, Me.Ow (2017). Dirty Water then re-released the first two EPs as a second full-length vinyl, The Darts (2017). The band immediately went on tour with The Living End and Billie Joe Armstrong’s The Longshot, and soon found themselves on big European stages like Sjockfest, Cosmic Trip, and Roots n Roses.

In 2018, Jello Biafra signed The Darts to his label, Alternative Tentacles, and released their first 7-inch, Bullet (2018) and the third full-length record, I Like You But Not Like That (2018). The band toured the US supporting The Damned, performed on main stages at big festivals like Punk Rock Bowling, Hipnosis Fest and The Bash, and got placements on top tv shows like Peaky Blinders and reviews in Rolling Stone. During the pandemic, Vox Guitars hosted a Darts’ Instagram Live session garnering over fifty thousand viewers. In 2022, The Darts released the EP Love Tsunami on Adrenalin Fix Music (FR), toured it around the US and Europe, and performed a studio session on legendary KEXP.

In 2023, Alternative Tentacles released The Darts’ fourth LP, Snake Oil, funded entirely by fans and co-produced by Jello Biafra himself. The band went on a 100-day European tour, with unique European editions of Snake Oil and many sold-out shows, plus appearances at top festivals Munster Raving Looney Party (Spain), Relache Fest (France), Festival Beat (Italy), Loungefest (Holland), and Muehlen Madness (Germany). The first pressings of Snake Oil sold out in both the US and Europe in less than two months and second pressings were rushed out on both continents during the tour.

While juggling the Snake Oil tour, the band recorded their fifth full-length record, Boomerang, with Grammy-winning producer Mark Rains (Hoover iii, Death Valley Girls) at Station House Studio in Los Angeles. Once again the album was released by Alternative Tentacles on different US and EU editions in March 2024 and the release was again followed by over four months of touring in Europe, UK, and USA. The album catapulted the band into feature articles in Rock n Folk, Rolling Stone, and many other major publications, plus appearances on France 24 television, BBC radio, a heavily-publicized live show inside Barlinnie Prison for the prisoners in Edinburgh, and inclusion on many best of 2024 lists. During the massive tour, the band stopped to record two new singles in France, which were then released exclusively on a compilation of sold-out-on-vinyl essential tracks, Nightmare Queens (2025 Adrenalin Fix Music). The compilation album continuously sold out and had to be re-pressed three times in ninety days.

In 2025, with a new lineup of singer/founder Nicole Laurenne (lead vocals, organ), Lindsay Scarey (bass, backup vocals), Rebecca Davidson (guitar), and original Darts drummer Rikki Watson (drums, backup vocals), the band toured the entire USA alongside Dion Lunadon and SERVICE and again invaded Europe for several months, performing on the main stage at huge international festivals: Binic Folk & Blues Fest, BearStone Fest, Relache Fest, Boneyard Weekender, Rocketmen Fest, CornRock Fest, Dollfest, Gonerfest, and Tough Enough Fest.

The band returned to the studio at Station House in Los Angeles and recorded the latest full-length LP, Halloween Love Songs (2026 Adrenalin Fix Music / Meow Hiss Music). Nicole wrote the album with the intention of side A being spooky-fun Halloween kitsch for trick-or-treating as the sun sets, and the darker sound of side B rocking the after-midnight bonfire with the leftover candy. With art by Travis Knight, the album will be released in both the USA and Europe on March 3, 2026, on two vinyl color variants and on all digital platforms. Lead track “Midnight Creep” (written by Laurenne and Scarey) will be featured in a video by Frogman director Anthony Cousins, and “Apocalypse” - with Davidson and Scarey performing it - were featured in a recent Gretsch Guitars advertisement. A huge album release tour is planned for the USA, Europe, UK, and Japan, that will encompass most of 2026.

Photo by Tina Gross