Al bum Revi ew: FULL CI RCLE by DAEPHNE BY HUGH SCHMIDT Dæphne w as a heavy i ndi e rock band from Boston, Massachusetts w ho announced they w ere goi ng on hi atus on Apri l 20th, 2017. Seei ng the new s on facebook , m y heart fell. Dæphne w ere, to m e, the Boston band. If som eone asked m e w hat bands they should check out from MA, Dæphne w ere alw ays the fi rst one I?d recom m end. I say thi s, because Dæphne released the m ost i m portant i ndi e rock record of m y li fe. And not only i s i t the m ost i m portant and i nfluenti al record on m e as a person, but i t?s also, w i thout a doubt, fuck i ng perfect. People w ho k now m e k now that I don?t throw shi t li ke that around. I am not fuck i ng around w hen I say thi s. Every song on thi s EP i s i m m aculately w ri tten, perform ed, and recorded. There i s nothi ng about thi s record anyone could change to m ake i t better. I?ve li stened to i t at least a few ti m es a m onth si nce I di scovered i t, shortly after i ts release i n Novem ber 2015. I haven?t gotten si ck of i t. I don?t thi nk I ever w i ll. Full Ci rcle i s ei ght track s of grunge i nfluenced i ndi e rock that are all absolutely i ncredi ble. Every song sti rs a feeli ng of nostalgi a w i thi n m e, w here I feel li ke m y heart i s bei ng torn out of m y chest w i th exci tem ent and despai r at the sam e ti m e. The bass fi lls on thi s are m elodi c, the drum s are ti ght and exactly w here they need to be, w i th the gui tars alternati ng betw een beauti ful pi cked leads and anthem i c dow npi cked pow er chords. Alexa?s voi ce i s nothi ng short of gorgeous, deli veri ng lyri cs that convey real em oti onal struggle but w i th a ?goddam m i t w e?re getti ng better? quali ty to them that m akes Full Ci rcle so upli fti ng.
Dæphne i s nothi ng short of a Boston i ndi e rock supergroup. Thi s EP features vocali st Alexa Johnson, bassi st Laura Brogan, gui tari st Ryan Hi ggi ns, and drum m er Juli an Berosh. The li st of bands they play i n (Palehound, Dum p Hi m , Honeym ooner, Baja Blasters, Banana) and have played i n (Bri ght Red Reason, The Daydream Im pressi on, Ri ctus Gri n, Sexy Coyote, The Mi chael Character, etc) i s fuck i ng ri di culous. They?re som e of the hardest w ork i ng people i n MA i ndi e rock and i t show s: thi s i s a record m ade by people at the top of thei r gam e. Full Ci rcle defi ned hi gh school for m e, and no other release m akes m e feel the w ay i t does. The gui tar solo i n ?Peach? i s so absolutely beauti ful that w henever i t com es on I have to stop w hatever I?m doi ng and just li sten. I can?t thi nk of a band that sounds li ke Dæphne. It?s fam i li ar yet so uni que. The songw ri ti ng, lyri ci sm , producti on, perform ance, fuck i ng everythi ng you can thi nk of that m akes a record stand out i s all here, contai ned w i thi n ei ght beauti ful track s. Full Ci rcle changed m y li fe, and I hope i t touches you the sam e w ay i t touched m e.
ht t ps:/ / daephnebost on.bandcamp.com/ al bum/ f ul l - cir cl e
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