Labels: Fully Intercoastal
Review by: MH
Daikon is a band I have reviewed previously and I quite liked their song on last year’s split 7inch with Great Apes. They have been so kind as to send in a physical copy of their LP which is always nice and a rarity these days. This is a band that has been together in fits and starts – first rehearsing in 1998, then disbanding and getting back together again a couple of times and only recording a full length for the first time in 2009. Something I learnt from the note which came with this is that there is someone from Bullets*In in this band…and also two people who were in Under A Dying Sun. However, they are not some form of post hardcore or emo supergroup. Daikon play melodic and sometimes melancholy indie rock and they are very good. They don’t stick around that long – 8 songs on this LP. The songs feature interesting guitar lines and flourishes and nice harmonies between the main vocalist and the female bass player which work particularly well on the superb “Glass”. Lyrically there is some fiery menace and anger going on too despite the generally poppy feel of the songs. The opening line on the album is “Well I swear I will cut you/If you come within 3 feet/Is what you tell me”. The opening lines to “Muzzle Loader” are similarly vitriolic. Another standout is “Los Gatos” which also mixes sadness and melancholia with a lovely guitar sound. I think that one might be my favourite song on here although the aforementioned songs and closer “Slow Clap” run it close. This is a band that I have rarely seen talked about but they are very much worth your time if you like your indie rock bouncy, with a touch of melancholy and a 90s flavour. Although this doesn’t sound like these bands too much individually I do hear a bit of Superchunk, Halo Fauna and something more recent like By Surprise in there. That combination, and Daikon’s own twist on it, is very much appealing to these ears.