Day Wave - The Days We Had

Jackson Phillips has thus far stuck quite rigidly to a tried and trusted formula in the music he’s made as Day Wave. Sure, his bittersweet dream pop is exquisitely crafted, but he’s yet to make the step up to the level that might have been expected of him by now. With that in mind, a debut LP feels like something of a make-or-break moment for the Oakland artist.

Unfortunately, ‘The Days We Had’ makes for frustrating listening. A handful of tracks in, it’s already becoming clear that any ‘wow’ moment which ought to be coming, isn’t. Lost in the wearying repetition of it all, Jackson’s straight-from-the-heart lyrics just don’t connect in the way they have done before. There are no immediately obvious standouts, and everything ultimately merges into one. The magic that he’s so often woven into his songs has largely come unravelled.

At a push, ‘Bloom’ – a rather soothing instrumental number that’s not a million miles away from Coldplay’s ‘Charlie Brown’ – and ‘On Your Side’ – arguably his zippiest effort so far – are legitimate highlights. There’s just little to nothing here, though, of the same indelible proportions as earlier offerings like ‘Come Home Now’ or ‘Stuck’. Opener ‘Something Here’ might better introduce the album if it were called ‘Something Missing’.

Jackson Phillips’ failure to convincingly answer the question of just how much he’s capable of ensures that doubts continue to linger. In some ways, ‘The Days We Had’ even feels like a step backwards. Who knows, perhaps we’ve already heard the best of Day Wave, because this sadly isn’t it.