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Daphne Loves Derby

Good Night, Witness Light

Written by: TL on 20/05/2007 19:05:09

Remember the review of Everyday Tragedy* I wrote some time ago? If you do, be prepared for a rerun of that. You see, just as Everyday Tragedy had managed to produce an appalling and mindnumbingly boring record that I did not at all feel like wasting precious time reviewing, Daphne Loves Derby has done pretty much the same with their new sophomore "Good Night, Witness Light". (* Read the review here)

Stating that there is nothing remotely interesting on this record comes dangerously close to the truth. After several listens I'm still close to falling asleep about two tracks into the lightweight indie/emo-pop this band is trying to produce. They sound like a band that wants to be Mae so badly it hurts, but where Mae is capable of serial producing sugarcoated melodies that virtually drip with emotion, Daphne Loves Derby grasps at empty air in their attempts to do the same. The vocals are bland, the compositions unoriginal and the lyrics dull.

The first thing on the record that comes close to distracting my attention from my eyelids is the fifth track. Not a good sign considering that its name is "Marching Band Intro" and it's really just some drums playing for 50 seconds, before sliding into "That's Our Hero Shot" that opens with the sound of some horns being played. This sparks my interest as well, as it reminds me somewhat of The Higher's last record, but sadly, ten seconds into the song, the horns disappear and the drumming fades into the same bland anonymity it has been part of so far. For the rest of the record it stays the same, with the exception of the one song on this record I feel like bringing to your attention. "Cue The Sun!" is an acoustic piece filled with warmth that leads your thoughts to some of the good stuff by Dashboard Confessional or maybe even Bright Eyes. It isn't the most memorable song ever, but even so, it does put into sharp contrast the apathy you feel when you listen to the rest of the cd.

To sum things up, I have a couple of thoughts about this album that I could share in order to make you understand how I feel about it. For instance, I could tell you that listening to this album makes me feel like I was way too hard on The Higher earlier this year. I think however that the most fitting description is that listening to this record, quite frankly, makes me feel like listening to something else. Even if you like it, you should rather check out Mae, The Higher or Cute Is What We Aim For, as they share a close resemblance to their music while still being quite notably better.

Download: Cue The Sun!
For the fans of: Mae, Cute Is What We Aim For, The Higher
Listen: MySpace

Release Date 27.03.2007
Outlook Music