Koski, Darius

***Known for his career with legendary punk band SWINGIN’ UTTERS, DARIUS KOSKI’s abilities as a song writer and musician are undeniable. Though many fans only associate him with his punk rock success, the realm of his expertise expands far beyond. Darius’ first official solo album, Sisu, is the perfect window into the lesser known side of his song writing. Of course, there were occasional glimpses along the way. Swingin’ Utters classics like “Fruitless Fortunes,” “Glass House,” and “Shadows & Lies” were originally written as solo material. But now, with the release of Sisu, we get a full view. Comprised of 15 tracks, Sisu is a veritable grab bag of acoustic genres and instrumentation, replete with guitar, piano, banjo, accordion, violin, glockenspiel, vibraphone, melodica and ukulele. From the haunting honkytonk piano on “Paper Tigers” to the galloping rhythm and surf guitar accents on “Howls From the Gale,” Sisu weaves its way through country, blues, acoustic indie, bluegrass, and both American and Irish folk. Although every track highlights a unique genre, each song shares the strong sense of melody Darius honed through years of writing hit songs for the Swingin’ Utters. (STREET DATE - 4/07/2015)