District Daze - Stay
Info: From Maynooth, Co.Kildare come five-piece District Daze who loosely describe their sound as ranging from funk to rock, they recently released their debut self-titled EP and accompanying video for their first single 'Stay' (above).
'Stay' is quite a mood-driven single, setting out with a lush bass-line and mournful surf-rock guitar riff, we meander slowly down the stream of Niamh Murray's crystal clear vocals and the added harmonies until everything comes together very nicely indeed at the songs half-way point. District Daze then charge up the batteries and hallelujah here's the funk on second track 'I Think I'll Pass', a nice contrast early on and it's filled with the smooth swagger of the beat and swinging guitar progressions. There's a jazz-soul club feel to the whole song which gives it a bit of an old world charm and feel, groovy stuff.
Third track 'Settle Our Scores' seems to come out of nowhere until you remind yourself that the band are not confined to any strict definitions in terms of genre. This is where we rock, the thick 70's glam rock guitar riffs and chorus have a contemporary slant on them that at times reminds me of the Yeah Yeah Yeah's or Goldfrapp, but also Joan Jett meets Blondie! Guitar solos echo Pink Floyd and as the song progresses it just gets better and better, I can totally get down with this sound any time.
District Daze - Settle Our Scores
The musical journey continues with the closing track, 'Drop Down', it's rockabilly intro melding into a blues-rock funkathon, the guitar solos again reminding me of what Jeff Beck might describe as blues deluxe, there's nice interplay between Murray and rhythm guitarist Daniel Ffrench who also more than holds his own vocally adding extra punch to an already highly enjoyable track.
It's a cliché, an overused one, but I have to invoke it, that this E.P. maybe shouldn't work, but it does, there is such a mix of styles that each track could almost be presented on their own and not necessarily be identifiable or connected to the same band. It works because District Daze have arranged their order carefully, we leave from a departure point of mellow calm and steadily arrive at a place of uplifting abandon, and from my perspective it's refreshing and enjoyable when this works, I'm getting bang for my buck across a number of genres that I happen to love, thumbs up all the way for this EP.
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