Pleased To Meet Me: The Darts
THE DARTS, 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 imme- diately 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.
Introduce yourself… (Where are you from, what band do you play in etc..) Nicole: I'm Nicole Laurenne from garagepunk band The Darts US and neousoul-triphop project Black Viiolet. I am the singer and keys player for both bands, plus I do the songwriting for almost all of it.
Why do you play music?
Nicole: Because I need it to breathe. Ever since I first gravitated toward a toy piano as a tiny child, my obsession has never stopped. I have been studying classical music, performing in jazz trios, playing in rock cover bands, fronting a new wave band, touring the world with garage rock bands, and now bringing my new solo project to venues around the world also. I write song after song no matter where I am or what else I am doing. The muse is real, and she is hungry. I think part of it is the artistic outlet, the creation of something bigger than myself. But also meeting all the people and watching their reactions at the live performances is one of the most rewarding, joyous parts of my life. It is the sweetest thing ever.
What was a major influence on you as an Artist/Band? What’s a favourite book or film?
Nicole: I studied classical piano as a kid so I didn't have a lot of exposure to pop music. But then I saw the movie Purple Rain and when Prince sings "The Beautiful Ones" in that movie, staring down a girl in the crowd, I melted through the floor and my life was altered forever. To me, that's what music should be. I also love cheesy time travel movies like Highlander and Outlander and The Terminator and even cheesier stuff than that; don't ask me about movies, you'll regret it. The first book I ever loved was called In The Keep Of Time as a kid and I think that set the course for me.
Do you prefer the recording process or performing live? What would be a dream collaboration?
Nicole: I prefer playing live. I love writing the songs, which I write on GarageBand, and which I write all the instrumentation for and basically try to get the demo as close to production level as I can before we head into the studio, because I honestly want to spend as little time in the studio as possible in the end. I like to know what I want and have everything ready to go. The live shows are just a huge, visceral experience like no other; I hope I get to keep touring for audiences like this as long as I live. I don't collaborate very often but I have been very fortunate to do some great ones recently (with Blag Dahlia from The Dwarves, Jason DeVore from Authority Zero, Stuart Connelly of American Gothic fame, and even my own incredible bassist Lindsay Scarey), so that has opened my eyes to the idea. In the rock world, I think a collab with Amyl and The Sniffers, or Jack White, or Stiff Richards would be incredibly satisfying for me sonically and emotionally. In the Black Viiolet world, a collab with Lana Del Rey or Devotchka (with whom we are playing this summer) would really be mind-blowing.
Describe a favourite album.
Nicole: I'm going to go with two April March albums, because to me an artist who can span genres with nonstop talent is the ultimate listening experience. If you listen to Chick Habit and then April March & Los Cincos together, all your genre desires will be satisfied in a single session. You will be happier and you will conquer the world and you will bask in the glow of her mind-blowingly cool voice and writing ability.
What's your favourite local haunt?
Nicole: In Seattle, I like the pizza at Limoncello and the donuts at Voodoo Donut. I love Screwdriver Bar when someone I like is Dj-ing there. I love the free shows at Easy Street Records. I love the eclectic sounds on stage at Rabbit Box Theatre. But honestly, I have only been in the area for a few years and I am almost always away on tour or boxed up in my little place by the water writing and working for the next tour. I have a lot to discover still.
What's your strangest experience while performing live?
Nicole: In 2023, The Darts played at Barlinnie Prison in Edinburgh Scotland. We played in the prison chapel, and I was literally performing on the altar, singing songs about booze and sex and life to hundreds of uniformed prisoners sitting in chairs and the prison staff standing around them. My daughter was there too, watching the show. The sunlight streamed into the stained glass behind me and right onto my organ while we performed. It was the craziest thing. Like a surreal dream.
If I were pursuing anything other than music it would be…
Nicole: I had a whole career as a lawyer and a judge while my music career was building up. I am a latecomer to this whole tour life, and I don't take a second of it for granted as a result. The 9 to 5 commuter lifestyle is still too fresh in my mind - I found it very very difficult. I think I would be maybe a tour manager since I love traveling. Or a lighthouse keeper. I love lighthouses - I try to go see them whenever we are out on tour - and being alone and looking out at the water, so that seems perfect.
What are some of your favourite aspects of being a musician in Seattle?
Nicole: The Seattle music scene is, to me, a very unique experience. In a lot of cities, the competition between bands is fierce and back-stabbing. I have been told by bandmates in the past that I was not allowed to play in other bands, for example. Seattle is the polar opposite. I don't know if it's the great musical history of this town, but the talent here is off the charts. Everyone you meet has some huge artistic talent. They all play in each other's bands and go to each other's shows. The sense of community is palatable. And the venues are beyond cool, and numerous. From the little DIY dives and record stores to the big theatres and street festivals, they really celebrate music here.
If you weren’t playing music in Seattle where would you be ?
Nicole: Bretagne, France, on the western coast, in a little hut like the one I now have in Tacoma, staring out at the rain and cliffs over the English Channel, touring and writing every day. It will happen one day soon.
Any sage advice for young musicians?
Nicole: It's ok to have a day job to support your music habit! That's actually a good thing, it gives you the freedom to make the music you want and not have to play covers or weddings unless you want to. But if you are serious about the music, make that your sole activity when you're not working. Turn off the tv, and get to work. Make the best possible music you can, and never stop editing yourself and practicing a new scale or writing a song with a different chord in it. Push yourself a little harder than you think you can go. Tour as much as you humanly can. There is no magic in playing the same city over and over. You have to get your music to new places and expose new people to it. Make that your number one goal in life and it will reward you tenfold.--
The band returned to the studio at Station House in Los Angeles and recorded the latest full-length LP, Halloween LoveSongs (2026 Adrenalin Fix Music / Meow Hiss Music). Nicole wrote the album with the intention of side A being spooky-funHalloween kitsch for trick-or-treating as the sun sets, and the darker sound of side B rocking the after-midnight bonfire with theleftover 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 featuredin a recent Gretsch Guitars advertisement. A huge album release tour is planned for the USA, Europe, UK, and Japan, thatwill encompass most of 2026.