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You might wonder at times where all the lost melodies in songwriting have gone.
Well, look no further than the latest from New York metro area band The Day
Traders, because they seem to have swiped those very melodies from the
atmosphere and laced their songs with them. It’s no coincidence that veteran
artist and songwriter Saul Zonana, who has a knack for churning out addictive
pop music himself, produced the project. And make no mistake, this stuff is
almost sinfully addictive. There are hints dropped of artists like the Beatles
and maybe a more modern sounding REO Speedwagon or Poco, but that’s only for
those of you who need a point of reference.
“Sad” is just the start of things to come, launching immediately into guitar and
harmony-driven pop that feels good enough to elicit a smile from the most bitter
of persons, despite the negative tone of its title. “Why” sounds like the
perfect radio single, nicely crafted to crescendo into a huge chorus. “Out of My
Head” harkens back to the ‘60s with Beatlesque guitars and a hook reminiscent of
the Turtles. Other standout tracks are “The Night They Said Goodbye” and
“Goodnight,” the latter of which reminds me of early Vertical Horizon. And the
haunting piano ballad “Come Home” is simply beautiful.
While a lot of these songs tend to be similar in structure and sound, the fact
remains that the tracks are so good that that doesn’t even matter. Plus,
anything Saul Zonana puts his fingers on tends to be like musical nicotine, at
least to me. The Day Traders are a breed of band that many would say is a dying
variety, and for you people they offer hope that all is not lost in the
landscape of today’s music industry.
~Mike Farley
mfarley@bullz-eye.com
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