North Carolina natives Israel Darling recently signed to NYC's Engine Room Recordings and their debut album 'Dinosaur Bones and Mechanical Hands' was released in the Fall of 2009.

Principal songwriter Jacob Darden was born in the small, Appalachian town of Drexel and spent the first 20 years of his life in the former mill town that has become the main influence of the songs he writes. Like the majority of his community, Darden grew up a devout Baptist. He made a point to go to church even when his family stopped, driving himself there every Sunday. Until two years ago, that is.

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A downward spiral of events left Darden in the hospital at the age of 19. "I started hanging out with the wrong crowds and making bad choices," Darden says. When he emerged from the hospital, Darden's beliefs had changed and he proclaimed himself an atheist.

FREE Download: "Samson the Mason" MP3

With a new set of ideals, he immersed himself in his music. "I don't think there's anything after this so I've been trying to do better for myself, living for now and making the most of today."

Darden's beliefs are strongly expressed in his songwriting. Despite Biblical references in his songs, Darden approaches religion with irony and bitterness. In the song "Samson the Mason" Darden muses, "led myself to believe, that God's nothing more than a three letter word, something that can't be touched nor heard." Darden's religious past also played a part in the naming of the band. At the ripe age of 15, Darden was playing at an open-mic in the nearby town of Morganton, NC. "A cougar came up to hit on me and asked my name," Darden recalls. "When I told her, she misheard last name as Darling." This older woman wasn't the first to make that mistake and Darden pondered calling himself Jacob Darling. He then began to think about the Biblical tale of Jacob, who was re-named Israel by an angel after a great deal of struggling. Darden identified with this tale of inner turmoil and decided to call the band Israel Darling.

Beyond the apparent atheist tones, Darden also examines the intricacies of human existence. "I write a lot about angles of everyday life, whether it be personal issues or the shit that scares you at night when you're trying to sleep," Darden says.

"One of the most compelling albums to come out of not only Greensboro this year, but the entire state... It is an immediately engaging album that keeps its momentum up from the first track to the last, while taking great thematic risks in the material he chooses to explore - specifically religion and drug addiction - but doing so with utter care and to stirring effect." 90/100 - Yes! Weekly

For More from Israel Darling and to see their latest tour schedule visit:

Israel Darling MySpace

Engine Room Recordings Official Website