The year has only begun to fully enter second gear and it’s already been a colourful year for the Australian scene, with Intertia dropping one of the finest metalcore EPs in recent years, Void of Vision shaking things up with standout tracks “Dominatrix” and “Into The Dark“, plus Northlane about to drop a game-changing LP. Fellow Aussie unit The Daily Chase are now looking to add to what is going to be a standout year for Australian music, with singles “Killjoy” and “Lotusland” more than impressing from their upcoming EP The Colour Of Crisis.
Straight out of the blocks comes corker “Killjoy“. It is one of the more straight and narrow tracks on the albums but the grooves and riffs present are irresistible. There’s some lovely production on the drums which makes the toe-tapping grooves even more catchy. The guitar work, blended in with some great vocal hooks in the form of “I always want what I cannot have, like the devil has control over my hands” makes for a track that becomes quickly addictive.
The great hook work continues on tracks such as “Human by Design“. Despite being one of the heavier tracks on the EP, there’s a pop-esque structure and style to the track, and again on the chorus the cleans pull the ear in. The excellent vocal mixing across the six tracks is noteworthy, with a fitting abrasive feel to the harsh vocals contrasted by the bouncy clean vocals. Sampling used on these vocals on tracks such as “Light You Up” only adds to what is an all-round admirable vocal performance across the EP.
There is some huge synth and electronic work across The Colour Of Crisis, with “Light You Up” seeing soaring synths that give the track a crescendo of an outro. The way they are layered into tracks such as “Lotusland” only helps further add to the track and density of sound offered up. The R&B style beat that opens up “Second Sun” feels somewhat out of place in the wider context of the EP but the whipping synths quickly make up for this. The closing synths on “Divide The Future From The Past” feel slightly retrodden ground from “Light You Up“, and so there is plenty of potential from The Daily Chase to expand and flesh out their synth work further in future.
The Daily Chase add an excellent EP to the array of sound coming out of Australia right now, and more than deserve to see themselves reach the forefront alongside names such as Thornhill and Void of Vision. There is potential brimming across The Colour Of Crisis which will hopefully be fleshed out fully on a full-length in the next few years. Packed with irrespirable hooks, riffs that will draw you in, and beautiful packaging, The Daily Chase have firmly staked their claim as one to give notice to in 2022.
8.5/10
The Colour Of Crisis is out April 8th via self release.