NEW MUSIC: Daydream Review Releases “Leisure”
Photo Courtesy of Side Hustle Records
APRIL 7, 2023 | BY ALICIA URREA
On April 7, psychedelic pop artist Elijah Montez – who goes by the alias Daydream Review – released his debut album titled Leisure via Side Hustle Records. The album is extremely multi-layered and experimental throughout its thirteen tracks, capturing the essence of leisure. All musical and lyrical choices were purposeful, with the intention of creating that feeling of enjoyment that comes with having free time. This record sums up the theme of constant desire to have more time to ourselves while living within a capitalist society; it’s the longing to combat that unfair demand to always surrender to work and responsibilities, despite our best efforts to enjoy ourselves whenever possible.
The first track, titled “Eventually,” is an immaculate opener to what is to come. Immediately, we are introduced to an instrumental intro that includes very pointy, hypnotic synth sounds and a subtle bass line. There’s also a distorted guitar that glides us throughout the intro until the vocals come in around a minute and a half in. The song feels extremely dreamlike, almost as if you are being transported to an entirely different dimension. First impression wise, it gives the familiarity of the sound of Tame Impala, but it goes beyond what we might expect as the album progresses.
The two previously released songs that are featured on the album – “Have You Found What You’re Looking For?” and “No Eternity” – continue with this dystopian theme that lingers amid the record. “Have You Found What You’re Looking For?” is an interesting track in the sense that the title alludes to Montez’s personal experience creating the song, asking himself if he was content with the direction he was taking for the track. He then realized it could also fit into the context of dissatisfaction in general. In “No Eternity,” Montez explores the feelings that come along with not being able to see the other side of things; more specifically, when unfortunate things are occurring in present time or have happened in the past, it’s hard to grasp onto positivity or hope for the future. Montez retracts to the unfortunate events that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, explicitly the Black Lives Matter protests that occurred mid-year of 2020. The main lyrical content of the song comes from the turmoil of that point in time.
Some tracks that are personally notable are “Dissolving” and “Never Know.” “Dissolving” is simply a personal favorite; it starts off slow, but kicks off with heavy instrumentation with a repetitive guitar riff and some descending synth sounds. It’s pretty fast-tempo, and has some interludes of calmness placed throughout the song before it picks up again. It almost gives a feeling of whiplash, a feeling of confusion that’s a bit euphoric. There are steady drums, dreamy vocals, and a buzzing guitar that can be heard until the closing guitar solo at the very end. “Never Know” is also another favorite, with experimentation being prominent in this track. It begins with a delayed, reverbed picking pattern on guitar, and then some drums count off for more instrumentation to come in. The vocals present themselves about a minute and a half into the song, with a steady bass line and some wavy, arpeggio synths in the background. The synths in this song sound otherworldly. The perfect way to describe it in simplistic terms is that it almost sounds like Montez is trying to reach a signal from an antenna. It’s sonically alien-like, and very celestial.
The title track “Leisure” and the closing track “Going Going Gone” are mesmeric closing experiences for the album. “Leisure” includes super calming synth sounds, and it instantly feels like you’re being rocked, almost like you’re being pulled in and out by ocean waves. There’s some percussion sounds and a gentle bass that comes to greet you, to then be met with more instrumentation around the fifty second mark. There’s some distortion and strummed guitar chords, with weighty drums and reverb. Once again, a superficial way to describe the feeling behind the track is it feels like striding along the shore of a deserted island. It’s very floaty, and it feels like it should be dystopian, but it’s utopian instead. It’s a funny callback to the title of the album: leisure. It’s a super relaxing track, as if you should be partaking in leisure when listening to the song. Overall, the instrumentation mainly carries the track, with Montez’s present vocals, though they aren’t the forefront of the song. It carries nicely, and isn’t too overwhelming despite the many instruments and production. “Going Going Gone” follows, which is a nice closure. The opening line is “Let’s get out of here,” and it’s wholly more simplistic in comparison to other tracks on the album. In contrast to the last song, Montez’s vocals are at the foreground of this short track, with some simple drums and synths.
If there’s one word I could use to describe this album, it would be escapism. Daydream Review seems to be pushing the boundaries of the modern sound of psychedelic pop. This debut, Leisure, is definitely worth the listen if you’re looking to be put into a spellbinding trace for forty-eight minutes and forty-nine seconds. It’s sonically very majestic, though lyrically speaking of very current and contemporary issues.
Stream Leisure HERE.