Day & Dream are a dream-pop, indie-pop, shoegaze band based in only the best US state. North Carolina, home of the Carolina Panthers. Can I get a “keep pounding!” Christian McCaffrey? I love you. Now, back to the real deal. Let’s break this new song down like David Tepper broke down the roster this year, but I promise not to leave us all in tears, and to stop football fangirling.
A Study In The Pixels Of Your Face is the first track from Day & Dream to be released in 2020, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
There is no doubt in my mind that lyrically, this song will resonate deeply with us all. We’re all longing to spend time with those we cherish most, utilising phone calls and video chats to get us through. Most of us have never experienced closeness in a purely virtual space before; unless you’re on the run, you’re a catfish, or you live for the thrill of potentially being catfished. For the rest of us, this is a whole new life, but here we are, saving the world by sitting at home and chatting to our pixelated loved ones. Let’s face it; we’ve probably seen more of them through our phones and laptop screens in the last couple of weeks than we do face-to-face in that beautiful world we once lived in. But no matter how much you talk over digital devices, it’s just not the same. We miss those great big squishy hugs, the smells we didn’t even know we’d miss and the feeling of just being in the physical company of the ones we adore. The lyrics “you’re so far away from me” are something we can all relate to more than ever, I’m sure. That’s the slightly jarring bit covered.
Yes, this song meets us very much in stark reality, but in all other ways transports us to a lovely, blanket wrapped place we’d all like to be in. It’s anything but doom and gloom, I promise. It’s beautiful and upbeat and joy-inducing and catchy. You’ll be singing about the rubbish reality of your day with a smile on your face.
Instrumentally, A Study In The Pixels Of Your Face is very cleverly constructed with layer upon intricate layer joining seamlessly to create a unique, groovy, ethereal sound. When the song kicks in, there’s a subtle background haze which gives a nostalgic tone from the off. This drops out when the vocals kick in, and we are whisked off to another scene; a place of red wine-soaked dances around the living room, of strong, catchy, reverberating riffs and a xylophone solo. The record reaches an ambient, fuzz-filled finale to tie it off beautifully.
You need to hear this today, and more than just once. In the meantime, I’ll be sat here daydreaming of the Panthers winning the Super Bowl.