Daughter
Not to Disappear
4AD / Playground

Now, more than ever, is it hard to squeeze Daughter into one the countless boxes of musical genres. Not to Disappear can hardly be described as indie folk, nor nu-folk, and it might be fruitless to even approach Tonra, Haefeli and Aguilella's music from that angle.

In terms of sound Not to Disappear oscillates between being dreamy and ambient, to heavy and violent. The theme is reminiscent of their previous album, If You Leave, dealing with several aspects of growing up in an increasingly jaded society, or as Tonra sings in "New Ways" 'Oh I need, new ways to waste my time'. In particular the record paints a bleak picture of modern dating, human reproduction and maternity, starting with the single "Numbers" (which do not refer to the arithmetical value):

In short; sadness leads to dating, and dating leads to loveless sex, which in turn results in pregnancy and motherhood as described in the track "Mothers":

Another melancholic topic treated is that of Alzheimer's disease and the effect it has on family life, and "Doing The Right Thing" tells a heartbreaking story. All in all the lyrics may seem bipolar, but it might be possible that Daughter percieves pain and pleasure as two sides of the same coin. Hence, there is certainly joy to be found some places in the record, or as the last track "Made of Stone" puts it: 'you'll find love, kid, it exists.'

Copyright © 2016 Jord Nylenna