Geoff Rickly's had a pretty interesting trip since Thursday disbanded. He's doing his solo thing and most recently, lost a lot of his shit, literally. So you know, he's got some more songs to write in the very near future. Darker Matter///Mixtape 2 is another Rickly roundabout on the depressive twists and turns that life takes one on and one thing's certain, he still hasn't lost his knack for storytelling. Mixtape 1 last November proved how experimental Rickly was willing to go and this record proves no different.

"Crushed Penny" more or less spins the mood of the record; the out of sync guitar picking and distorted vibe alludes to a new, dark-folk style of music from Rickly. listeners haven't really heard. It's full of gloomy amplitudes like ' I don't mean to put you down / I found you already / You're worthless and buried / But I couldn't seem to put you down', showing how much Rickly still hinges on his own uniquely morose method of storytelling. Morbid? Not so much. Haunting, maybe.

The experimentation was more varied on Mixtape 1 but in weaving his sordid webs, Rickly sticks to his distinguishable perception of life's downs, more than the ups. Whether it's an eerie organ or disturbing wailing, with tracks like "Somewhere, Listening to Chet Baker Without Me..." and the instrumental "...but, do you remember?," this mixtape has a distinctly unpolished feel of a homemade record. And that seems to be exactly what Rickly aimed for with this ongoing project.

The closer, "Darker Matter," shows how big a Johhny Cash fan Rickly is, while also crashing into a noisy crescendo very reminscent of latter-era Thursday. Rickly continues to paint lyrical masterpieces and there's a swelling sense that with further musical experimentation and extra bravado, he'll conjure even better things. If you're a Thursday fan, his solo work may be difficult to ingest but there's something cavalier about such a great songwriter willing to take risks in his music.