Review by Shannon Shumaker
Emotion is palpable on Dayseeker’s newest release, Origin. Within the first song on the album, “The Nail In Our Coffin” it’s apparent what to expect with this release; beautiful clean choruses with meaningful lyrics stand out among angry and dark screams and heavy guitar work, and the outcome is incredible. On top of that, the production on this album is spectacular, capturing the true energy and emotion in Dayseeker’s sound.
“The Nail In Our Coffin” opens Origin with a dark, angry sound, but it isn’t long before the clean vocals come in and make the song really bloom. Halfway through “The Nail In Our Coffin,” it breaks into this beautiful bass driven clean part with clean guitar work, then progresses into a clean chorus, and the outcome just serves to show you what to expect for the rest of the album. The following song, “A Cancer Uncontained” flows flawlessly from “The Nail In Our Coffin,” and does a complete 180 in sound. Instead of beginning with hard-hitting vocals or a heavy guitar part, “A Cancer Uncontained” kicks off with haunting clean vocals and echoing guitar work, showcasing Dayseeker’s versatility amazingly. The clean vocal work on “A Cancer Uncontained” threatens to be some of the strongest on the album, and lyrically, it’s empty and haunting, especially with the lingering line, “Your hands won’t stop shaking,” before the unclean vocals and guitar come in.
The following song, “Dead To The World – Alive In My Eyes” has a very similar haunting beginning like that of “A Cancer Uncontained,” but the song comes in quicker this time around, hitting hard with unclean vocals and strong guitar work before breaking into a bright chorus. With “Dead To The World – Alive In My Eyes,” it becomes clear that Dayseeker have a formula that works well for them – a great mix of bright clean parts and darker screams and heavier sounds. The following song, “The Earth Will Turn” is easily one of the strongest songs on the album, not only because of the way that the song progresses, but because of the emotion behind the lyrics. About vocalist Rory Rodriguez’ mother’s struggle with drugs, it’s impossible not to feel the emotion behind his words and the longing, painful lyrics.
Another standout track is “The Burning Of Bridges,” which starts off as one of the hardest-hitting and darkest songs on the album, but quickly breaks into a clean part with vocals that almost feel poppy before leading back into the heavier sound, and the contrast is remarkable. The way that Dayseeker flawlessly transitions from one sound to another is jaw-dropping, and the chorus on “The Burning Of Bridges” is easily one of the strongest on the album. Where “The Burning Of Bridges” is heavy and full, though, the following song, “Spotless Mind” is heartbreaking and empty, and easily one of the most emotional songs on the album. Lyrically, “Spotless Mind” is about forgetting someone, and feels like a homage to the 2004 film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, painting a picture of the movie’s iconic scene with, “We laid out on the ice/And I’m just exactly where I want to be.”
The following song, “The World Was Quiet,” feels like moving on from “Spotless Mind,” and is bright and beautiful, contrasting amazingly with the next track “Lucid Dreamer” which is dark and eerie. The contrast in sounds, both between songs and throughout them is definitely one of the strongest aspects of Origin. While some of the songwriting patterns can get a little repetitive (especially in the beginning of the album) the formula definitely works, creating catchy, beautiful and memorable songs as Origin progresses. The moments of change and contrast throughout the album are beautiful, and sometimes jaw-dropping.
As Origin progresses, it seems to grow, keeping you interested up until the very end. The album as a whole has its strong points, such as the contrast between clean and heavy, dark and light, but each song also has little things that make them strong as well. For instance, the emotionally charged “Spotless Mind” and “The Earth Will Turn” are strong lyrically, while “A Cancer Uncontained” shines because of it’s musical versatility. Each track holds something special on Origin, which makes the album well worth listening to, and sure to leave listeners hanging onto every note.
Rating: 4.5/5
Listen to “A Cancer Uncontained” or “The Earth Will Turn”