The height of indie pop, Dayglow’s newest publication, ‘Harmony House'

The talent that is Sloan Struble combined his many musical abilities of vocals, keyboard, drums, bass, and more, to create the solo indie-pop venture, Dayglow. After their initial rise towards success in 2018 with their first studio album ‘Fuzzybrain’, Dayglow have finally released their second album ‘Harmony House’, and it has exceeded expectations.

Dayglow is at the height of indie-pop music with their repetitive and jolly synthesises and captivating lyrics, all of which are explored beautifully in the newest album. 

‘Close to You’ was the first single teasing the release of ‘Harmony House’. It is catchy and almost impossible to listen to without singing along or moving to the beat. This made it the perfect choice to reel in fans who were desperate for another Dayglow publication. 

 

 ‘Something’ is a song that is the most identifiable with listeners, especially in this generation, because it relays the truths and obstacles behind people and social media, portrayed in the lyrics, “Take it again, edit the face/Love what you see, copy and paste.” 

‘Woah Man’ expresses the notion of moving forward and growing within yourself, which is depicted in the lines, ‘’Cause if you wanna keep on growing/You’ve gotta leave some things behind”, conveying the message that sometimes it’s a good thing to move on and let go. Struble has taken thoughts about some of his own personal situations and turned them into songs that radiate a very upbeat, optimistic sound; however, once unpacked, all contain a much larger message.  

  

The mellow side of ‘Harmony House’ includes tracks such as ‘Into Blue’, ‘Strangers’, ‘Like Ivy’ and ‘Crying on the Dancefloor’; each as poignant as the last. Emotion and passion run at an all-time high while these songs are blasted, especially when it comes to the instrumental bridge in ‘Crying on the Dancefloor’. It’s a moment that brings the listener out of their mind and into their head, causing goosebumps. ‘Strangers’ is one to make you think. A personal track describing the changes and the adaptation to life after such immense success that Struble has clearly been through over the past few years. 

 

The album is rounded off with ‘Like Ivy, ’ which sounds like an album conclusion. It’s smooth, calming and the lyrics depict the thoughts of ‘is this life real’, represented by the lyrics, “I get the feeling I’m participating/In a demonstration, they’re just playing along/Is it real?” 

‘Harmony House’ perfectly captures a modern take on an 80’s hit album, with catchy hooks and a bright pop music approach. 

 

Overall, ‘Harmony House’ is the perfect record to bring people out of lockdown and into summer, just in time for the warm weather and summertime parties in need of a good soundtrack. 

 

Anna Scrimgeour 

@anna.scrim 

Image: ‘Harmony House’ Official Album Artwork