Some relationships begin after the damage has healed, while others arrive while the past is still moving beneath the surface, asking two people to decide whether uncertainty is reason enough to turn away. And on their new collaboration ‘Dark’, Montreal’s Madrid Exit reunites with Delachute for an atmospheric indie-pop single about choosing intimacy despite the old wounds that continue to complicate it.
The track is the third release from Madrid Exit, the musical identity of multidisciplinary artist Alexy Préfontaine, and the second collaboration between the pair following ‘July’. Where the project’s earlier work established a restrained and often nocturnal sound, ‘Dark’ introduces a greater momentum. Enveloping synthesisers, a bright melodic centre and an upbeat pulse give the song a distinctly summery character, even as its emotional foundations remain unsettled.
Delachute’s vaporous delivery adds distance and mystery, making the romantic connection feel tangible but not entirely secure. Alongside Préfontaine’s instinct for textured, contemporary production, the performance carries the impression of two figures moving towards one another through a landscape that remains partly obscured.
Produced independently by Madrid Exit, then mixed by Will Régnier and mastered by JP Villemure, the single preserves the technical limitations and exploratory instincts that have become part of the project’s character.
As a preview of the forthcoming debut album Strangers, ‘Dark’ offers the clearest indication yet of Madrid Exit’s widening range. It’s more animated than ‘Gone’ and carries greater pop lift than the understated intimacy of ‘July’, all while retaining the nostalgia and emotional uncertainty linking all three releases.
Warm, restless and quietly vulnerable, ‘Dark’ captures the peculiar courage of opening oneself to another person before every past injury has disappeared. Madrid Exit and Delachute don’t pretend love removes the shadows; they simply allow enough light in to make stepping forward feel possible.