Review Summary: Dayseeker's debut is a hit.
Dayseeker have been somewhat of a quiet rumble in the wider explosion of post-hardcore into mainstream music. Led by gifted frontman Rory Rodriguez, the band is signed to Nick Moore's InVogue Records, through which they have released two albums, including their very recent effort,
Origin. Dayseeker's work over the past two years has slowly solidified their position as a modestly important band within their scene. While Dayseeker continue to climb the post-hardcore ranks, it is the band's debut album,
What It Means To Be Defeated, that truly laid the foundation for the bright future the group has ahead of them. The album originally came out in 2013 to very little attention. Its deluxe edition came out in late 2014. Interestingly,
What It Means To Be Defeated remains a great record. It is a competent debut loaded with great ideas and memorable moments.
What It Means To Be Defeated has a complex production history. The record was originally produced by Jeff Darcy and mastered by Joey Sturgis. However, when the band decided to release the record's definitive edition, they opted to have Tom Denney completely re-remix and re-master the entire album. Overall, while both versions sound good, I think Denney's take is superior. It sounds crisper and more pronounced. In both its forms,
What It Means To Be Defeated sports good engineering that fits Dayseeker's sound well, regardless of which edition you decide to listen to.
What It Means To Be Defeated has great instrumental depth. Dayseeker's guitarists are all exceptionally skilled. Tracks such as "Dead Man" and "Resurrect" feature some beautiful melodies. On most of the album's choruses, the band uses their guitar harmonies to bolster Rodriguez's clean vocals nicely. Furthermore, the release's drums are rock solid, and the bass parts, while almost inaudible, are finely played. The real star of
What It Means To Be Defeated is Rodriguez himself. His voice is simply incredible. Possessing a beautiful, darker timbre and an impressive baritenor range, Rodriguez's performances on the record are all near impeccable. Some of his belted notes are ridiculously powerful, and are sure to send shivers down your spine. While often overlooked, Rodriguez is certainly one of the best singers in post-hardcore. Unfortunately, the album's screams simply cannot compete with its cleans. Rodriguez serves dual vocal duties, and while his screams are good, his singing is simply superior in every respect. "Dead Man" and "The Home We Built", as the lighter tracks, only feature Rodriguez's cleans, but it would have been nice to see even more of his singing in the heavier tracks on the album like "Sleep In The Sea" and "Collision.Survive". Nevertheless,
What It Means To Be Defeated's vocals are superb.
Songwriting wise, Dayseeker swim very comfortably in the standard post-hardcore pool. Nearly every song on the record has breakdowns and chugg-ish verses. There are heavier parts for screams and lighter ones for singing. But,
What It Means To Be Defeated somehow finds a way to stand out among its genre peers. The album's uniqueness can be traced to Dayseeker's really wonderful use of atmosphere, and the way the band combines crushing breakdowns with soft interludes full of soothing melodies. It is this masterful use of contrast and dynamics that prevent the album from becoming stale or repetitive. I love the fact that every song on the release is memorable, and that there is minimal filler. What is unfortunate, is the fact that some songs are better than others. For example, the second half of the album, with excellent tracks like "Dead Man", "Sleep In The Sea" and "The Quiet Disconnect", simply outpowers the more regular post-hardcore fare of the first half.
As a whole,
What It Means To Be Defeated is a great record. Considering it is Dayseeker's debut recording, it is surprising how mature and confident the band is with their sound and performances. This release may seem to be average post-hardcore, but it is much more than that. It is an emotively driven powerhouse of a record, one which has something for every fan of the genre.
