Darlak doesn’t write songs to impress—he writes them to tell the truth. His new single, “Pride and Pain”, is a quiet gut punch of a track: raw, reflective, and unafraid to sit inside life’s harder questions. Instead of chasing trends, Darlak leans into timeless storytelling. He writes about the parts of life we don’t post on social media—the weight of choices, lessons earned the hard way, and the stubborn fire it takes to keep going when the road gets heavy.
At its core, “Pride and Pain” is about survival—not in the dramatic sense, but in the deeply human sense. It’s a song for anyone who’s wrestled with regret while still holding onto resilience. Darlak doesn’t romanticize struggle. He honors it. Through steady acoustic picking and unpolished honesty, he captures the emotional tension of moving forward while carrying your scars. “It’s about being proud of who you’ve become,” he shares, “even if the journey hurt like hell.”
Musically, the single is built on simple ingredients used with intent: warm acoustic textures, unfussy production, and a vocal performance that wears its emotion openly. Produced by Doug at The Watchmen Studios in Lockport, NY, the track avoids overproduction in favor of authenticity. Every strum, every breath, every crack in Darlak’s voice feels earned—because it is. The song also carries a personal fingerprint behind the scenes: Darlak’s wife, Felicia, played a quiet but powerful role as a creative anchor, pushing the track toward emotional clarity from its earliest sketch to its final master.
The defining moment comes in the chorus, where Darlak lets everything loose. The vocal lift lands like a confession—equal parts strength and surrender. This is the moment where the title “Pride and Pain” becomes more than a metaphor. It becomes a truth you can feel. Pride isn’t clean. Pain isn’t defeat. And both can exist at the heart of an honest life. That emotional duality gives the track its staying power.
“Pride and Pain” marks the beginning of an unfolding chapter for Darlak. He’s already preparing his next release, “Hourglass”, a reflective track that widens his world with bigger production and an even deeper lyrical approach. But if this first single sets the tone, one thing is clear: Darlak isn’t chasing hits—he’s building a body of work for people who still care about songwriting. Music for the long drives. For late-night thinking. For anyone living between what hurt and what healed.
Stream “Pride and Pain” now on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5nrLH2AqrAxvaHBpTA537t?si=jI8d7VlzR6GSb4iue4lxDw
—because sometimes the truest songs don’t scream. They speak.
