Former leader of much loved Montreal band ONE CANDLE POWER has re-emerged under the moniker DARLING ARMS. After nearly four years fronting her previous musical outfit, Christina Frances has finished work on her debut CDEP, recorded at the DISCHORD HOUSE in Arlington, VA with the assistance of FRODUS/DECAHEIDRON/CASETTES singer/guitarist Shelby Cinca.

She formed ONE CANDLE POWER in 2001, self-releasing three CDs and doing a number of DIY tours. "I wrote the vast majority of the songs and was the only original member of the band towards the end."

The band ended when Andre Guerette (now of AIDS WOLF) quit. "He told me he always felt like he was getting in my way of making more beautiful, quiet music. By that point the band had become so far removed from what I set out for it to be that I felt it best to call it a day."

After OCP's split, Frances slid into depression and stopped playing or thinking about music for months. Once an avid supporter of the local music scene, she quietly withdrew from attending shows. "I finally found myself back at square one, slowly beginning to compose again, rebuilding and tracing the same roots I have always traced."

A decision to go on a road trip with an acquaintance in June 2006 helped shape what would become the next step in Frances' musical trajectory. "A friend of mine (Stephen Guidry from the THE CASETTES) was driving to Louisiana and offered to take me with him. I headed down to his place in DC and we took off for about a month."

"His band was in the process of recording their album and when we got back to DC he asked me to sing some back-ups for them. The vocals were all being recorded at the home of singer/guitarst Shelby Cinca (FRODUS, DECAHEIDRON) so I went over there and sang some parts. He loved my vocals."

Ready to head back home to Montreal, Christina had already bought a train ticket and was to leave the next morning when Cinca begged her to stay and record more. She made a deal to cancel her train ticket and stay another week in exchange for an impromptu recording session of some of her songs. He agreed and suggested they do some of the recording at the DISCHORD HOUSE because of their nice hardwood floors.

"I did all my guitar tracks at DISCHORD and then my vocals in Shelby's bedroom. He then invited Tom Bernath (also in THE CASETTES) over to add some upright bass on a few of the songs."

Frances returned to Montreal and assembled a backing band of piano, violin, bass and drums. It took Cinca eight months to finish mixing the EP and in that time Christina sold some handmade/unmixed versions of the songs at shows to an overwhelmingly positive response.

"For the most part my music is categorically singer-songwriter stuff with an occasional country-tinge," says Frances. "The guitar is sparse and minimal, the vocals offering the most dynamic change." Taking influence from musical acts as disparate as Ted Leo, Buffy Ste. Marie, and the Weakerthans, comparisons can be drawn of DARLING ARMS to acts such as Cat Power, Low and Azure Ray (but with more urgency and range on vocals).