B-Side Guys

Rain falls persistently throughout “Someday Soon,” the third single from Darker Lighter’s forthcoming self-titled debut, functioning as both literal setting and emotional metaphor. Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Salar Rajabnik, the architect behind this project, constructs a sonic downpour where thunder doesn’t follow lightning—it arrives simultaneously.

Unlike previous singles that established Rajabnik’s range (the shimmering synths of “Hanging On” and the raw intensity of “Nothing’s Ever Gonna Be The Same Again”), “Someday Soon” achieves a perfect synthesis of textural exploration and visceral impact. The dissonant guitar work creates harmonic tension that mirrors the lyrical narrative of emotional standoff, while thunderous basslines provide not just foundation but countermelody, suggesting influences from Rajabnik’s cross-continental upbringing between Tehran and Kansas City.

The track’s most striking element is its patient ferocity—an apparent contradiction that Rajabnik navigates with remarkable precision. When he delivers lines questioning stagnation (“Living your life in the same old way/Going through the motions every single day”), the vocal performance balances frustration with determination, creating emotional complexity that transcends typical indie rock angst. This nuance becomes particularly effective in the chorus, where the promise of “coming round again” carries both reassurance and warning.

Rajabnik’s DIY musical background—self-taught on bass, drums, guitar, and production—manifests in arrangements that prioritize emotional impact over technical showmanship. Yet the musicianship remains undeniable, particularly in drum patterns that refuse simple backbeat comfort, instead creating rhythmic landscapes as variable as emotional states themselves.

The recurring garden imagery establishes both physical location and metaphorical territory—a space of potential growth requiring both care and patience. This thematic thread reaches its apex in the bridge, where Rajabnik’s vocals rise above the instrumental deluge to deliver the track’s most vulnerable confession: a willingness to wait “until the day you let me in.”

Having recorded his debut at Foo Fighters’ Studio 606 under the guidance of Grammy-nominated producer Robert Adam Stevenson (whose credits include Paul McCartney and Queens of the Stone Age), Rajabnik demonstrates how studio expertise can enhance rather than sanitize emotional authenticity. “Someday Soon” serves as compelling evidence that sometimes the most powerful downpours come after the longest droughts—both meteorologically and musically.