Awesome Music / DAY6

With highly skilled musicianship, evocative storytelling and powerhouse vocals, the sheer amount of Genre-Busting present in DAY6's fairly-lengthy discography - coupled with their versatility and flair for experimentation - is proof enough of why they earned the moniker of a band you can "trust and listen to."

The Day

Although now a spot of Early-Installment Weirdness due to its more electronic and hip-hop-dominant bent, this EP is nonetheless still home to some gems.

• "Congratulations" is a cathartic, lighters-in-the-air power ballad about the bittersweet realisations that accompany a relationship doomed to fail. Never has heartbreak sounded so powerful.
• "Out Of My Mind" is an upbeat, summery song that pairs a steady, driving rhythm with bouncy vocals and an earworm of a guitar hook - which all come together to capture the push-and-pull of a turbulent relationship.
• "Like That Sun" is a groovy little number that just gets you dancing. Young K's ever awesome slap bass is just the icing.
• "Colors" is a stunning ending to the EP. With powerfully evocative lyrics, mournful vocals and melancholic instrumentals, it leaves a lasting impression long after it ends.

DAYDREAM

Their first release after losing a member, DAYDREAM already shows signs of the Genre-Busting to come while cycling through themes of growing up and leaving things behind against your will.

• "First Time" wouldn't be out of place in a musical, with bombastic vocals and a strident rhythm section.
• "Wish" sees the band channelling their inner Queen, with a fiery guitar solo as the cherry on top.
• "Letting Go" is a power ballad that speaks of having to bid farewell to someone you'd hoped to spend the rest of your life with, simply due to each others' paths diverging, that has an astounding build-up. The rebooted version, found on SUNRISE, adds additional instrumental flourishes that drive the knife in deeper.
• "Sing Me" is a wistful, yet soaring electro-rock number that's just as tear-inducing as it is heartwarming. With its story of two people about to part ways for good asking each other to "keep singing [their] song until the end of time," it remains a firm fan favourite to this day, appearing in every single setlist without fail. "Fate cannot kill me unless you forget me," indeed.
• Dominated by Motown-esque brass and slinky guitar riffs, "Hunt" is just as catchy as it is slick and raunchy in its thinly-veiled expressions of the more risqué aspects of love and infatuation.

SUNRISE

The first half of the EveryDAY6 project is bright and summery - almost deceptively so.

• “I Wait” is the song that sparked the band's Genre Shift to more guitar-driven alt rock. Starting with some echoing, lo-fi synths, the song then builds up towards a punky speed and chord progression.
• "Man In A Movie" is delightfully musical-esque, and features a stirring string quartet to further amplify the cinematic metaphor for someone falling head-over-heels for the first time.
• “You Were Beautiful" is a morose ballad that reflects on the end of a relationship. If that wasn’t enough, then watching the music video will probably get the tears flowing some more.
• “DANCE DANCE" is a carefree, loudly-cheerful number that's bound to get the listener to do exactly as the title says.
• "Goodbye Winter" is a tender, wonderfully evocative ode to the onset of spring. It uses winter's last traces as a metaphor for loss, but also for gathering the strength to move on and look forward to something just as beautiful.
• “I Smile” is a stunning post-rock number, with powerful synths and vocals that bolster the message of having to move on from someone you once loved even if it hurts, even if only to make your peace with the situation and seek out brighter skies.
• "Say Wow" is fun and jovial in its explorations of infatuation, with a delightfully bouncy piano driving its motif.
• "I Would" is as powerful as it is sorrowful, with its sonorous vocals capturing the heartbreaking feelings of regret after letting go.

MOONRISE

The second half of the EveryDAY6 project settles down into autumnal tones and more introspective ruminations.

• With its delicate, yet powerful guitar arpeggios and resolute determination to see rough times through, "Better Better" is a rousing and heartwarming anthem.
• "I Like You" is a rousing confession of love, with a dynamic string-backed instrumental.
• "What Can I Do" takes a funky bass riff that's reminiscent of "Money" by Pink Floyd and uses it as the backbone to a ridiculously catchy song about the confusions and inner conflict that infatuations bring on.
• "Hi Hello" - partly inspired by the band's own stories of gradually-blooming yet unshakeable-with-time friendships being formed over the course of the years - is so ridiculously bright and sentimental that it's difficult not to cry from the sheer joy being expressed.
• “When You Love Someone” is a soft acoustic ballad that talks about the will to endure everything life may throw at the narrator in order to ensure the happiness of someone beloved.
• An acoustic piece that sounds like someone on the edge of tears, "All Alone" acts as a heartbreaking precursor to the more direct "I Need Somebody."
• "I Need Somebody" starts off quiet, with the narrator calling out for someone to listen to him as he walks through city streets alone. While Jae and Wonpil encapsulate the quiet, thinly-veiled despair that comes with loneliness, Sungjin and Young K belt out loud and sorrowful notes as the song mounts in intensity and melancholy, culminating in multi-tracked guitars and explosive drums. In particular, the refrain of "why am I alone?" has been known to send full audiences into uncontrollable sobbing.
• "I'll Try" is a stripped-back, acoustic-driven declaration of the will to keep fighting come what may, written entirely by Wonpil as an ode/thank-you-note to his mother. It builds up to an absolutely gorgeous a-capella section, full of harmonisation and tender reflection upon the year gone by and days to come - a fitting conclusion to both the album and the year-long project.

Shoot Me: Youth, Pt. 1

Taking influences from grunge, punk and garage rock, this release kicks up the volume and grit.

• "WARNING!" is a fast-paced, grungy track that takes several cues from garage-punk. As siren-like guitar riffs echo around you and the song continues to mount in tension and speed, it's hard not to scream along by the time the bridge - and Jae's startlingly anguished falsetto note - rolls around.
• “Shoot Me” takes reggae rhythms and combines them with some good old alt-rock angst, building up to a powerful, howling climax. The lyrics are just as powerful - the speaking of how torrents of hurtful words can hurt just as bad as a bullet, and how although the protagonist is willing to suffer it all for his love, he's not sure of how much longer he can take it.
• "Somehow" is a triumphant and invigorating track, with plenty of Melismatic Vocals and brimming with the unwavering determination to keep on living despite everything life may throw in one's path.
• With parts being written and split up after several games of rock-paper-scissors, "Talking To" is a cohesive and easygoing track despite each members' distinct musical colours clearly standing out through the parts they each took charge of.

UNLOCK

Their first Japanese full-length turns up the angst and theatricality, while showcasing a louder and heavier sonic palette than previously heard.

• "If~Mata Aetara" is a stunning swerve into heavier hard rock, with gritter riffs and harder hitting rhythms.
• "Stop The Rain" takes the grittiness of "If~Mata Aetara" and turns it up, with soaring vocals and some truly epic riffs that were written in collaboration with Ellegarden and Nothing's Carved in Stone's Shinichi Ubukata.
• "Breaking Down" melds grit and angst with some truly impressive synthesizer work from Wonpil.
• "Live Your Life" is a stirring pep-talk that urges the listener to carve out their own path in life. With massive chants and vocal deliveries that sound strangely understanding, it's a song of solace for many.
• Starting off with some lacy, desolate finger-picking riffs courtesy of Jae, "Falling" builds up from a sorrowful lament to an absolute explosion of crashing drums and forlorn vocals that mourn for everything the protagonist has lost in the process of growing up and having their heart broken several times over.

Remember Us: Youth, Pt. 2

Remember Us is where the band's retro influences truly shine.

• Penned by Young K in a little over an hour while in a taxi, "hurt road" is a heart-wrenchingly powerful ballad that is hopeful despite its, well, hurt.
• "days gone by" sounds like it was ripped straight out of the 70s, dominated by clean, reverb-laden guitar tones and vintage synths and silken vocals that are sweetly nostalgic, yet tinged with the sadness of leaving better days behind.
• "Headache" and "121U" are a dynamic duo of riff-driven angst. Dowoon's dynamic drumming is what propels them to headbanger and concert-favourite territory.
• "So Cool" is a hip-hop based track that has the band boasting about finally having overcome their struggles and fighting to the top despite naysayers and attempts at sabotage. There’s even a Boastful Rap courtesy of Young K!
• "Beautiful Feeling" is a truly gorgeous song, with dynamic vocals and a breezy, yet striking instrumentation. The lyrics celebrate the true beauty of the present moment, and the wish to have it last forever. What makes this even more of a happy tear-jerker is the fact that this song was written as a thank-you-note to everyone who supported the band through rocky times - and was dedicated to their fans on the anniversary of their debut.

The Book Of Us: Gravity

Childlike in its youthful exhilaration, Gravity is musically vivid and colourful, even in its more reflective moments.

• "Time of Our Life" is dynamic and rousing, with some of the most uplifting and exuberant lyrics to come from the band. The song invites the listener to join in and write "a page of our beautiful youth together" - and who could say no to those jangly guitars, exultant drums and jaunty, carefree vocals?
• "For Me" marks a change in the harshness of previous songs on the subject, with lyrics that talk about how it's okay to forgive yourself for past missteps, and to learn to love and accept yourself for who you are.
• Inspired heavily by gospel, one would be hard-pressed not to bellow along to "How To Love." The lyrics themselves are also a light-hearted and fun take on learning how to, well, love as one grows and matures.
• "Best Part" has cheery lyrics and equally-boisterous instrumentation that's guaranteed to make the listener break into the widest of grins.

The Book Of Us: Entropy

Entropy takes a statistical mechanics concept and uses it as a metaphor for the burgeoning disarray and passion that sets lovers alight, before the flame consumes itself and leaves them cold. This is also the album where the Genre Roulette and Genre-Busting is kicked up several notches, with each song being distinct in its own right while also fitting into the general narrative.

• Backed by a reverb-drenched slap-bass riff and guitars soaked in ring-modulators "Deep In Love" sets up the lyrical and musical eclecticism that is to follow in the form of a song reminiscent of an 80s metal ballad.
• "Sweet Chaos" is gritty, punchy and jaunty, combining jazz rhythms and piano with guitar riffs that wouldn’t sound out of place in a My Chemical Romance song. What makes this one even more awesome is that the song is 200 bpm, making it the fastest song in their discography.
• "EMERGENCY" is bursting at the seams with energy - bordering on frantic. With bright, brassy trumpets and funky slap-bass riffs accompanied by heart-rate monitor bleeps, it's an immensely fun and light-hearted take on the initial panic and denial that comes with falling into lovesick throes.
• Their heaviest and most abrasive track till date, "Rescue Me" unleashes the metal and is haunting in its intensity and theatricality. Jae's fuzzed-out guitar riffs snarl and weep as he cries out "to the unfeeling universe," while Sungjin's raspy vocals give vent to despair and heartache, and Wonpil's echoing synths and quieter crooning swirl around the chaos.
• "About Now" provides some respite in the form of a casual, easygoing track only backed by clean guitar arpeggios and delivered in a gentle croon. It's an introspective moment amidst the frenzy.
• "Stop Talking" is blunt in its explorations of the kind of hurt mere words can bring.
• "Not Mine" is an orchestral rock beast. Sweeping strings and sonorous kettle drums accompany the realisation that some things are just not meant to be, regardless of however much one tries to make it work.
• A calmly-despondent finale after the frenzy and havoc finally exhausting itself, "Like A Flowing Wind" is a desolate ballad that sounds like the aftermath of prolonged turbulence. The icing on the cake is Wonpil's Incredibly Long Note at the bridge and outro - which stretches out for an impressive 20 seconds.

The Book of Us: The Demon

Using the "Maxwell's demon" thought experiment as the primary metaphor, The Demon is noticeably more despondent and subdued than its predecessor, reflecting the emptiness after the storm. While it takes a step back from the Mood Whiplash of Entropy, this EP is still emotionally charged and heartwrenchingly introspective.

• Inspired by the Korean metaphor for living without much emotion or excitement, "Zombie" is gloomy and morose in its brutally honest narrative of living in monotony, to the point of being unable to feel anything.
• "Love me or Leave me" is dynamic and punchy with its synth-pop tinged instrumental as it narrates the all too familiar push-pull of Unrequited Love.
• A surly post-punk track that seethes with grimy guitars and irascible vocals, "STOP" makes for a climactic explosion of frustration at being hurt in the name of love and refusing to take any more.
• "1 to 10" sees the group taking on new wave as the lyrics tell the tale of a lover refusing to accept the end of a relationship, constantly stating that "nobody loves you more than me" in an attempt to rekindle a fire never present. What takes the cake is an absolute knockout of a bridge, with a simplified instrumental in compound meter backing some absolutely delicious harmonies.
• Penned by Sungjin, "Afraid" gradually builds in intensity, as the group's ever impressive vocal harmonies give voice to the ever-heartbreaking feeling of being plagued by the fear of not being enough and screwing things up just as they start to get better.

Misc./Unreleased

• "Finale," a stand-alone Japanese single, is one of the most jubilant and uplifting songs in the band's discography. It celebrates a "happy ending" to a love story, and hopes that the same will befall the listener. The cherry on top is Dowoon's little verse towards the end - short, but oh so very sweet.
• Live performances also incorporate several unreleased songs that have evolved and developed over the years, but still remain firm fan favourites despite no studio recordings currently existing.
  • "Raindrops" is a gentle, tender ode to watching the rain fall with a loved one by your side.
  • "Pandora" is an atmospheric, lo-fi piece structured around a music-box melody. It has been known to move the audience to tears on account of its sheer delicate power.
  • The highlight of "I Can" is a (usually improvised) synthesizer breakdown from Wonpil that buoys the song into crowd-anthem territory.
  • "A.M.A.G." and "Gilteo" are rap-rock powerhouses that feature rapid-fire back-and-forth rapping from Jae and Young K set to aggressive electronic-rock backings. Sometimes, they even go off-script and start a mini rap battle!
  • "Stop Being Cute" is an adorably-awkward declaration of love with no conditions or hiccups.

---