The Daily Brothers – Long Live the Dream (Teflon Beast, 2012)

The Daily Brothers – Long Live the Dream
Teflon Beast 2012

The Daily Brothers recorded this EP in Grapevine and Austin Texas between April and December of 2011. And they certainly are brothers (unless it’s some kind of hoax), featuring Jeff Daily on guitar, Chris Daily on vocals, Keegan Kinney on vocals, and Matt Daily on drums. “Lamplighter” is composed of a pulsating organ in the background and a groovy bass-line supporting pretty laid-back, pop-oriented rock structures. The timbre in the vocals is reminiscent of Wilco, or maybe it’s just the whole aesthetic of the song in general. “La Grunge” aptly incorporates a dirty, improvisatory electric guitar playing in a kind of Middle Eastern scale. The main hook in the solo repeats throughout the song creating a rather hypnotic effect. “Saddle Up a Nightmare (and Ride)” features beautiful, ethereal, backup female vocals, presumably from the only non-Daily, Keegan Kinney. The melody in the verses is pretty sassy. Chris Daily’s vocals in “The Dream” are slightly more expressive and melancholic, perhaps even “soulful.” The song sounds kind of timeless, with a chord progression that sounds from the past but rightly placed in the present. Chris is joined by Kinney on vocals in the chorus, forming a really nice male-female vocal duo. Great song. “Best Laid Plans” has a more rocking, upbeat, and driving sound. However, the whole sound is still pretty gentle and casual. There is a call and response between the vocalists in the chorus that I am pretty into. “Funtime Freakout” is exactly what it is titled, beginning with a joyful, funky, melodic structure before gradually spiraling into a free form improvisation. Wailing and sliding electric guitar, thumping bass, and a mysterious wash of what sounds like cymbals from the drums.