Formed in 1991 in Helsinki Candy Darling has built itself a solid reputation in the clubs of the Finnish capital as a colourful live band, charming brit pop crowds and American lo-fi (Beck, Pavement etc.) aficionados alike. They are musically melodic and their songs are as catchy as they come but there's always something darker lurking behind the surface of sweet pop innocence. It might be the Cabaret-era-Berlin-cum-Plastic-Space-Cadet stage presence of singer J. Campbell, or an thundering rendition of the Chilean revolutionary song El Pueblo Unido Jamas Sera Vencido thrown into the live set. Mystery. Power. Modernity. New key words keep popping up.Candy Darling's debut album "INGRID" is an intriguing package full of sweet melodies and twisted tales. The members of the band insist that the songs on "INGRID" deal mostly with the impossibility of love but in the end I guess it's left up to the listeners to decide the fate of the characters in songs like "Satellite", "Goodnight-Song" and "Ingrid". And to sing along."Ah yes, with our music we try to encourage the intercourse between the Earth people and the Space people", J. Campbell deadpans after I mention the numerous space metaphors on the album. This comment is followed by a thoughtful ten second silence and a sly smile. "Not to mention the intercourse between girls and boys".In the summer of 2004, guitar-player Matti Heikkinen died of a brain haemorrhage. After a period of mourning, Jaakko Niskanen, an old friend of the band, joined Candy Darling. Now they are working on their second album.
