Daily J - ‘SCATTERBRAINS’ Review: A timeless love letter to Summer, washed up in a bottle just waiting to be discovered
Daily J’s latest effort is a worthy love letter to Summer.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Credit: Ethan Allerby 📸
The Winter in the UK is harsh, gloomy and ultimately, grey. But, on the other side of the world, in New Zealand, it’s the heart of Summer. Everything is bright and colourful, the sun is beating and you feel an urge to escape to a beach. All of those feelings are not too dissimilar from Scatterbrains - the sunshine-filled latest effort from the indie pop band, Daily J.
In nine shimmering tracks, Scatterbrains perfectly encapsulates the feeling of Summer; bottling up ice-cold nostalgia (Tastes Like Forever), youth (Cheap Tequila Sunrise), love (Sunday Stitches) and optimism (Daydreamer) into a timeless mixtape which is destined to soundtrack your past, present and future. That bottle, bursting with bliss, has washed onto the shores of the UK, just waiting to be popped.
Made up of three brothers, Jayden, Johnny and Jesse Paul, and their lifelong friend Rick Everard, the fiercely independent indie quartet has quickly gained notoriety, after hitting the UK with their debut headline show at OMEARA last year and a glorious appearance at All Points East. Their second album has been long-anticipated, over four years since their debut, which spawned hits like Left Me Like Summer.
Picking up the record on the ear-worm whistle of Sunday Stitches instantly fills you with sunshine-filled indie pop. As the lead and opening single, you’d struggle not to be captivated by this colourful world, reminiscent of the infectious melodies you’d find with Wallows or Royel Otis. The single alone is strong enough to carry the band to dizzying heights on the indie scene, but impressively the rest of the album follows the same pace, immediately backed by the woozy nostalgia of Cheap Tequila Sunrise and beach-banger Tastes Like Forever. (‘God made you to be on my mind, he must’ve thought of you when he made sunlight’)
The band themselves described Cheap Tequila Sunrise as ‘a reflection on what it was like to be a kid before life got too complicated.’ That innocence of youth can be felt throughout the record as a continuous theme and forms the overall charm.
The summer isn’t all rose-tinted glasses, as narrated in Someone To Cry About. Albeit slower than other tracks on the record, there’s still a sense of optimism. A sentiment which is echoed with Go With The Flow, which encourages you to ‘walk on the bright side of life’. These groovier tunes give us a moment to dig deeper into the record, and sway our hips, as we strut across a metaphorical beach.
Before we get lost too far in our feelings, the bottle of joy that is Scatterbrains unleashes a ray of sunshine in Daydreamer. Perhaps the most uplifting on the entire album, the track is filled with a carefree mentality and a reminder to stare at the stars and dream. In a similar fashion to Sunday Stitches, there’s little you can do to stop the perfectly crafted ear-worm chorus from beaming into your head before it climaxes with a funky finale. Daydreamer can sit comfortably next to Two Door Cinema Club or Vampire Weekend, as a coastal anthem.
For Your Leisure is another favourite, leaning into the art of memories, and showcasing the band at their very best, particularly vocally together. This is a huge contrast to Roadie, which is the final and arguably the most unique track. Centred around an acoustic guitar, Daily J summarises everything we’ve experienced and importantly felt, with a reminder that ‘not everything lasts forever’. By the second verse, the rest of the band is intricately involved, and there’s a cracking guitar solo too.
Scatterbrains is a gorgeous love letter to Summer. The love, pain and memories you’ve experienced all come flooding back the moment you open that washed-up bottle. Through every track, the band have timelessly captured the energy and feeling of Summer, giving you a window to reminisce and create more of the same memories. Our only wish was this record was longer, but as we know, nothing lasts forever. Now you’ve found Scatterbrains, this bottle of joy is yours. Dive in again, anytime, we know we will.
Now, it’s your turn. Give it a spin, and tell us what you think on Insta or X.
Rating: 8/10
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