| Sumerian Records, April 19, 2019 |
Tracklist
7. Already Numb
Forming in 2012, Dayseeker is a relative newcomer to the post-hardcore scene, but has built up a solid reputation, predominantly off the strength of vocalist Rory Rodriguez. It has been a little over two years since their last project, July 2017's Dreaming Is Sinking//Waking is Rising, which was a conceptual post-hardcore project influenced by Trainwreck by Boys Night Out. Sleeptalk, the band's fourth effort, strikes in a decidedly different direction. The lyrics here primarily focus on girls, dysfunctional relationships, and human nature. The post-hardcore style has been dialed back to a more melodic modern rock sound. While not a total reinvention, Sleeptalk is a boldly divergent outing and is easily Dayseeker's softest album to date.
The band's greatest asset is clearly vocalist Rory Rodriguez, and he is the reason why Sleeptalk's step away from the band's 'core' roots works. The album's increased focus on R&B and pop spotlights his clean vocals further. A good example of this is the third track, "Burial Plot". Opening on a soft, ambient tone, the well-calculated atmosphere emphasizes Rodriguez's clean singing and holds back the guitar distortion until the chorus. Both heavy and light elements have always been present in the band's sound - they've included softer "reimagined" versions of their own tracks on the special editions of their first two albums and on an EP released after their third. This time around, Dayseeker takes that softer, electronic-driven direction and puts it front and center. However, this is pop-influenced, not a pop album, as the guitars, drums and rock structures still play an important role.
"The Color Black" is a track that combines the heavy and soft, mixing some screaming and heavy guitars in with a piano line. The first single, "Crooked Soul", provides an accurate sampling of the album and showcases Rodriquez's emotive vocal performance. The piano rock of "Already Numb" and the power ballad "Starving to Be Empty" are two songs fully emphasizing the softer end of the spectrum. Sleeptalk concludes on a strong and unexpected note with "Crash and Burn". This closer fully builds up to a climax and ends on the heaviest moment on the whole album, actually including a metalcore styled breakdown at the end.
Dayseeker has proven with this album that they are one of the more underrated bands in the scene and are worthy of attention. However, at 36 minutes in length, Sleeptalk could have benefited from including more tracks or structural variety. There are only nine actual songs, as one of the ten tracks, "The Embers Glow" is simply a one-minute interlude. With the radio success of artists like Bring Me the Horizon, Sleeptalk is an album I could see getting substantial airplay at a station like SiriusXM's Octane, or rock radio in general. Sleeptalk is a successful blending of pop with post-hardcore and earns a score of 8/10.
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