Review Summary: A full year transformation comes full circle.
It's crazy what can happen in a span of 14 months, and that couldn't be more true as it is for teenage sensation Daya. It happened so abruptly and so suddenly, not even she herself saw it coming even. Getting to meet her and spend a few moments backstage last February at the Neptune Theatre, only a few months before her catapulting ascent aboard the radio charts with her collaboration with the Chainsmokers in the tepid "Don't Let Me Down"; she was humble and thankful for the fact that she was even making strides by opening for teenage heartthrobs like Jack and Jack, and hopeful that she'll break out across the mainstream herself. She doesn't need to worry about that anymore, she's already made her mark in absolute fashion, and easily had her biggest year in 2016. A surprising transformation that began 14 months ago with her then unusual appearance at the 106.1 KISS FM Jingle Ball in Seattle, to the bewilderment of thousands who didn't know her name, to now culminating in her debut major label release in the icy, wintery "Sit Still, Look Pretty", completes one of the faster ascents to stardom in quite some time. And then some.
The distinctive and certainly unique element that struck out to me from the beginning with Daya was her lively, graceful vocals. Influenced by the sultriness of Lorde, it's heavily boosted with her grace and flair that blends well within its similarly characteristic tracks. It's represented highly in the snowy, ambient "Dare", a motivational anthem that asks of you to overcome whatever challenge is on your doorstep, and to take even more risks. It's also a step musically in a different direction from her debut EP, which was flooded in a multitude of dark ballads, yet finished out with a sense of girly on the side. Instead of what came to be from the past, its shamelessly replaced with infectious, colorful yet gracing synths and echoing bass fading away in the naturalistic, seasonal background. It's a step forward in the right direction, maturing up musically whilst still maintaining the darkish ambience in the foreground. It fits perfectly with Daya's seasonal style and mood encased inside this album; a mixture of awe, heartache, and everything in between.
Not everything inside this debut excursion is all shadows and darkness however. The one-dimensional, frozen sound that blushed throughout her debut EP is now forgotten, expanding free with brighter colors pasted within. The icy, powdered "I.C.Y.M.I" is littered in abundance with a festival of cool, frosty synths crackling throughout, only further enhanced by Daya's powerful vocals that flushes in so much positivity inside it's cold sound. The temperature turns up a little for once in the warmer, romance-filled "Love Of My Life", etched with summery synth lines burning it's way through with ease, only to be outmatched once more by Daya's strong vocals bursting again. The imbalance in both vocals and in sound in the majority of the album does muddle it down a bit, sometimes even overwhelming the listener by the sudden force of Daya's majestic voice laying over the varying sounds of the album. That sudden flourish of heat climaxes in the sandy EDM track "Got The Feeling", multi-layered in shades of crystallized synthesizer and ultraviolet bass booming in the summery background. The poppy, sunset hook even samples the infectious vocals from Kiiara's radio hit "Gold", striking a fair resemblance to the sugary hit single. It's the highlight of the album, as it strikes the perfect balance in both vocals and in its warm, neon-esque sound quite beautifully.
The biggest year to date for Daya's blossoming career comes full circle in her album debut "Sit Still, Look Pretty". While it is easy to be fooled by its masculinity and superficial title, it's far from it. Journeying in the abyss lies an abundance of dark and bright sounds in its wake, guided through eloquently by her unique vocals in the foreground. While there isn't enough new content to dive into, as her entire 6-track debut EP is mashed in together to give the album more weight to the 8 new tracks brought to light, it doesn't do enough to disrupt the serenity and awe this debut excursion provides. The imbalance in both vocals and in sound bears familiar to what occurred with Fifth Harmony's debut, more of an issue on the engineering side than the artist herself. All in all, what Daya delivers in her shining debut album packs more the punch to her resume than just the kaleidoscopic hit single "Don't Let Me Down" did for her career, and that signals a far more promising outlook for the 17-year old singer than arguably any other female artist in her genre right now.
