On Friday, Jan. 15, 2016, an album titled "Not to Disappear" was released by an English indie folk band called Daughter. If I were to ask if you care, then I'm guessing your answer would be no. That's perfectly OK, but I'm here to explain why you should consider saying yes instead.
Daughter consists of Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella. If nothing else, you should be interested because they have someone named Igor and another who could almost be related to Christina Aguilera. You may have heard some of their music before and not known it. They've been featured in advertisements (Tour de France, Widerøe), TV shows ("Grey's Anatomy," "So You Think You Can Dance," "Skins" and "Teen Wolf"), and films ("A Long Way Down" and "How I Live Now").
Before you proceed any further, I recommend clicking here to listen to a song from the new album. You know, to get a feel for it.
Have you ever been bummed out, sad or depressed before? If you haven't, kudos and keep up the good work. If you have, how do you cope? Personally, my number one aid is and always has been music of all kinds; to that end, Daughter has been a part of me for a long time.
The one common criticism Daughter seems to receive is that their music is too sad. This is not untrue though I would argue that the melancholy nature of the music is a benefit rather than a hindrance -- it undeniably adds to the power, beauty and (for some of us) relatability. The haunting lyrics are written by Elena Tonra for the most part, with Igor contributing every now and then. Her musical interpretations of grief, shame, insignificance, loneliness, invisibility and doubt are both personal and universal.
Here is an example from track six of the new album, "Alone / With You":
I hate living alone / Talking to myself is boring conversation / Me and I are not friends / She is only an acquaintance
I hate walking with you / Talking to myself is boring conversation / You and I were once friends / Now you're only an acquaintance
I know. Downer, right? If you're on top of the world, those words won't mean much to you. But if you've ever felt the same way -- sick of being stuck with you, yet tired of being with everyone else -- then those lyrics mean much more.
With "Not to Disappear," Daughter has also stepped up their musical game. Granted, it's always been excellent despite its relative simplicity. This time around, however, the guitars, bass and drums integrate with additional atmospheric electronic elements -- providing much more energy and complexity than previous releases.
I've said all I can, really. At this point, it's up to the music to convince you. Keep an open mind and an open palate, and give it the chance to try.
You can find Daughter on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon or basically any place where music is sold. Except maybe Zune. Remember Zune? What fun. But I think Zune is dead, so probably don't go there.
