Darling Magazine

by Olivia Redfern A few weeks have passed since Char, known by the alias 'Sugar Mice', took her first steps onto the music scene with her self-titled EP. The ethereal yet haunting melodies paired with a spacy electric guitar melt warmly together on each of the four tracks. We spoke to Char about her unique sound, overcoming her doubts and her plans for the future. 1. How would you describe your current sound and genre?   “It's quite a weird one. I always ask other people how they describe it because I don't really know myself. It just feels like a big open space, and a lot of people have said it's quite ethereal. I think there are elements of shoegaze and lots of '90s influence on me, so it's pretty electrical. I don't think I'd ever do acoustic-type stuff, but who knows.”   2. Are you planning on delving into any different genres in the future or are you content with developing your sound right now?   “I feel like I do want to try other stuff. I don...

by Phoenix Atkinson In lockdown, my hair grew out - as hair often does. It had grown from a tight (but slightly bland) short back and sides to a rather glorious and simultaneously rather awful semi-mullet. Imagine Billy Ray Cyrus with an attempt at Joan Jett. It had been dyed so much that you could almost feel the strands screaming for a decent shampoo, condition and cut, and, by the end, it was reaching my shoulders. One of my mates had said recently that I had “looked like a non-bald Bill Bailey”. The absolute goal! It’s an uninteresting story, as most of mine are - unless you know the context. Hair grows when you can’t get a trim, big deal. But there was something in the way it made me feel that I want to talk about. I had been out as trans-masculine for a few years at this point, and I was happier than I had ever been, but there was still something wrong. I felt like I had to conform to the masculinity I was taught. Bland clothes, bare face, short hair. I was still stuck on what ev...

by Susan Moore Paris Hilton has officially announced the release of a new line of y2k inspired tracksuits.  The timing is perfect; with the cold weather, rise of athleasure over the last decade, and the styles of previous decades trending. It seems like the perfect storm, destined to relaunch luxury tracksuits into the fashion-sphere. However, there are a few things working against Hilton in this endeavor. With short form video content (see TikTok & Reels) being a highly influential source of fashion inspiration, microtrends are always coming and going. It seems as if this launch may not make a splash as much as a blip. Of course it will sell, but there is also the question of if Hilton herself is still relevant enough for her collection to make much of an impact. While Hilton clings to y2k trends and their allignment to her hayday, she does have a decent sized fanbase who support her endeavors. Considering her preexisting cult following, as well as Gen Z consumers who enjoy th...

by Lara Parry A new Channel 4 documentary, ‘Untold: Inside the Shein Machine’, exposes the poor treatment of garment workers within SHEIN factories in China  Most of us know that fast fashion is bad, but the documentary released on October 17th exposes the extent of what goes on behind the factory doors of the ultra-fast fashion brand SHEIN. It is truly horrifying.  The documentary delves into all of SHEIN’s worst secrets in just under an hour. Including the fact that SHEIN’s highest-paid factory workers earn just £500 per month, while being expected to generate up to 500 pieces of clothing daily. For other workers, starting salaries are not a given. The majority are paid just 3 pence for every garment they make. If errors are made, employees can then be liable for a salary cut of up to two-thirds. On top of this, SHEIN’s employees usually work up to 18 hours per day for all 7 days of the week. They are granted just one “rest day” each month.  “There’s no such thing as Su...

by Emily Duff Jamrock Punch First up, Jamrock Punch which unfortunately was a slightly underwhelming start to the taster. Very simple, this cocktail was good - but nothing special. However, it worked well as a pallet cleanser before trying out the rest of the tastiness in store.  With a natural and earthy sweetness, the main downfall of this cocktail was it’s watery consistency. Maybe with less ice and more spirit this one could pack more of a ‘punch’ but instead it got boring quite quickly.  Ingredients: Gin, passionfruit, strawberry, apple, grapefruit & fresh lime Taste: 3/5 Appearance: 2/5 Tingwray Now the Tingwray had a lot more flavour to offer. With both a white overproof rum and classic white rum packed into one, this cocktail certainly tasted strong - but in the best way possible.  Not too overpowering, the inclusion of a controversially strong spirit, Wray and Nephew, was actually allowed to shine and show its flavour. This was a well-balanced cocktail, with ...

An activist curator and cultural spokesperson, Kanika is a musician native to Baltimore, who deeply resonates with the injustices occurring on our doorstep. ‘It’s My Body’ is one of the highly anticipated songs on her 3rd solo album, coming Spring 2023. Invoking and facilitating conversations around important societal themes, Kanika’s work truly embodies the meaning of unity, female empowerment, and freedom of expression. Despite centralizing on heavy topics, such music proves technically beautiful and atmospheric.  Layering up-tempo dance tracks with soulful ballads over rock guitar, Kanika proves undefined by genre. Coupled with thought-provoking lyricism and powerful vocals, ‘It’s My Body’  encompasses a melodic narration of lived experiences from the United States. Not her first political statement in protest, Kanika sang for over 24 hours straight in Washington DC, to break the record of the longest filibuster and demand the Senate pass the Freedom to Vote Act. Also, a fi...

by Lauren Pirie-Scott Content warning: some of the language in this article quotes racist terms and describes abuse and r*pe. This Wednesday (November 9th), Johnny Depp appeared in Rihanna’s latest Savage X Fenty show. Depp appeared dressed in khaki and beige, with backup dancers dancing to Outkast’s ‘So fresh, So clean’. It will come as no surprise that this has sparked huge social media controversy, for multiple reasons. Firstly, many individuals were outraged that Depp is being given this platform, after the actor’s abusive relationship had been made so public. In London, the high court ruled that Depp did subject his then-wife, Amber Heard, to domestic abuse. Although the case was civil, therefore neither faced prison time, this ruling was to determine whether The Sun’s accusations of Depp being an abuser were true.  Whilst it can be said that Heard was also abusive and their relationship was extremely toxic, here we see, yet again, a male abuser being put on a pedestal and ‘fo...

by Emily McIntyre Queerbaiting is not a new term, but the way in which it has been recently misconstrued and used as a weapon against celebrities, is something the internet has definitely seen an increase in. The term was originally used to essentially call out media that played with the idea of non-heterosexual relationships/attraction with the sole purpose of gaining audience interest without following through in LGBTQ representation. However, more recently, it’s been used to criticise and call out people that seemingly take advantage of and capitalise on the appearance or implication of LGBTQ+ relationships, without actually being a part of the community. Take Harry Styles for example; with his non-compliance to stereotypical gender norms when it comes to how he dresses, he can’t even be seen performing on stage without having queerbaiting accusations and his entire sexuality up for debate. A now hazardous term, it places a huge amount of pressure on individuals in the limelight to ...