Dan Barrett

Dan Barrett is an American musician from Connecticut, New England. He is a member of the rock duo Have a Nice Life. Outside of this, he has released solo work primarily under the names Giles Corey and Black Wing. In 2003, he founded the record label Enemies List Home Recordings.

Musical career

Have a Nice Life

Giles Corey

Black Wing

Black Wing is the second solo project of Barrett. The music is categorised within electronic subgenres, though maintains the gloomy and dark elements of his work as Giles Corey and with Have a Nice Life.

Barrett began creating music as Black Wing in 2013, releasing two demos onto Bandcamp: one self-titled and "My Body Betrayed Me". In June 2015, "My Body Betrayed Me" received a music video and Barrett announced ''...Is Doomed'', the debut album of Black Wing, which released on 25 September 2015. The album was enjoyed by critics, though some thought it was underwhelming when compared to his previous works. Sam Robinson for ''Echoes and Dust'' said it was refreshing yet reminiscent of his previous works, but that listeners should not expect it to be "the next great milestone" in Barrett's discography. Thomas Brand for ''Beat'' was disappointed with the production but still lauded several songs, including the closer "If I Let Him In", which he considered Barrett's best work to date. ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' highlighted the same song, describing it as "centering, chilling, later explosive, terribly despondent, but humbling".

''...Is Doomed'' was followed up five years later with Black Wing's sophomore album ''No Moon''. Created during the COVID-19 Pandemic and released on 11 December 2020, it is thematically dark and emotional. ''No Moon'' was preceded by three singles: "Bollywood Apologetics", "Is This Real Life, Jesus Christ", and "Choir of Assholes / You Think It'll Make You Happy But It Won't". Like its predecessor, ''No Moon'' was enjoyed by critics, many of which said it avoided several of ''...Is Doomed''s shortcomings. For instance, Brian Roseler for ''Treblezine'' distinguished its production, something reviewers found issue with in ''...Is Doomed''. Roseler finished his review by noting that there was less lyrical intensity on this album than Barrett's previous work, but that this was of no detriment: "It's a triumph of purposeful and intentional design, an album that was born from the pandemic, and tailored from a landscape of dreams". Conversely, Aleksandr Smirnov of ''Beats Per Minute'' disliked the change in style and opined that no song was memorable. Regardless, the album was featured as ''Bandcamp''s "Album of the Day", and Chris Keith-Wright for ''Echoes and Dust'' called it fantastic and hoped that the next release would arrive sooner than the five-year gap between Black Wing's first two albums.

Enemies List Home Recordings

In 2003, Barrett founded his own record label, Enemies List Home Recordings, because he wanted to release music to the public but did not have the financial means to distribute it through mainstream labels. It was founded solely for the purpose of releasing Have a Nice Life's debut ''Deathconsciousness'', and as such he used it as a personal label until 2010, at which point he allowed submissions from other bands. The label has released albums from Have a Nice Life; Barrett's solo projects Giles Corey and Black Wing; as well as unrelated artists, including Planning for Burial, Mamaleek, and Xasthur.

Discography

As Giles Corey

;Studio albums

;Live albums

;Extended Plays

As Black Wing

;Studio albums

;Singles and demos

Other

;Extended plays

Notes

References

{{reflist

21st-century American musicians
Rock music groups from Connecticut
American ambient music groups
American electronic music groups
Musical groups established in 2013
Musical groups established in 2011