Forming in mid-2012, Daisyhead is an emo/punk four-piece from Nashville, TN. Much like Better Off – a somewhat similar sounding band that calls the same place home – Daisyhead is sure to storm onto the scene when people actually take the time out of their day to check out the band’s music. I Couldn’t Face You, a four-track EP that shows what this band is all about, is set to release on November 5 via Spartan Records. The band is also playing a record release show just a few days later with Balance and Composure, so maybe that will intrigue some people to check out Daisyhead’s music. If not, maybe this review will do the trick. The first song that I heard by Daisyhead was the title track, “I Couldn’t Face You.” After opening with an excellent riff that slowly makes its way into your headphones, things get even more interesting when the second guitar part – a fantastic lead – presents itself over the top of the main riff. The drumming on this track is particularly impressive and very aggressive, though the high point of “I Couldn’t Face You” (both the song and the EP) is the chorus. With that being said, I really wish Daisyhead had stretched the song out a little bit longer so you could get three run-throughs of the chorus rather than one and a half.
While “I Couldn’t Face You” is the stand-out track on the EP, Daisyhead is not a one-hit wonder. Opener “Numbing Truth” kicks things off with a heavily distorted guitar riff that then transitions into a very calm verse with ambient guitars and very little percussion present. Around the two-minute mark, things start to pick up again and the guitar sounds even more distorted than before – and it also sounds very similar to the guitar heard on Daylight’s Jar. The following track, “Sun,” is similar to “Numbing Truth,” as the song starts off fairly aggressive then reverts to another laid-back verse.
The final track on I Couldn’t Face You, “What’s Done Is Done,” is a perfect fairwell to the EP. For the most part, it’s a much slower track that’s quite emotional, too. The lyrics are very powerful, with lines like “If I could change time – if I could rewind and make this all okay, I’d give my life away” and “I can’t take back what I’ve done / It’s tearing me apart inside” driving the chorus. The middle of the track features another ambient interlude where the guitar takes center stage, but then the members come together one final time for a huge chorus. The EP comes to a close with a beautiful – yet somewhat cliché – acoustic guitar part.
All-in-all, I was very impressed with this 14-minute effort. The Daylight vibe is very strong in the instruments, but the vocalist does his own thing – which almost lets the heavy Daylight influence slip past you.
