DAYTIME TV RELEASE PARADISICAL NEW EP ‘ISLAND’

FIVE TRACK ‘Island’ is OUT NOW | By Ollie Hayman

After the success of their debut album ‘nothing’s on but everyone’s watching‘ , Daytime TV released their new 5-song EP, ‘Island‘, which has been described as a “fresh manifesto” compared to their usual sound. The Scottish 4 – piece have recently supported the likes of Feeder, Kaiser Chiefs and The Amazons, as well as playing major festivals such as Kendal Calling and TRNSMT. They also completed a major headline tour in the closing stages of 2023, where some of these singles made their live debuts!

The EP instantly begins with the low bass of ‘So Sick’. The song seems to be about an extremely one sided relationship, which is shown in the lyric “I’ll be anything you want me to be / but I can’t give it up for free”. This insinuates that the perspective of the song is trying to put effort into the relationship but not getting anything back. The song then goes into the chorus, which says “so sick and tired of waiting for you” – which reinforces the theory of waiting for the other half to put effort in. The song is very short, just under two and a half minutes, but it is a cracking start to the EP, and shows off the new sound of Daytime TV. 

‘Lost In Tokyo’ begins with an extremely catchy synth riff, spanning the first 10 seconds of the song, but which is also repeated throughout the song. In my eyes, the song describes the feeling of missing someone who is far away, which is shown in the lyric “I wonder where you are in the dark tonight”. This makes me feel as though the point of view of the song is longing to see the person described. Just after, the lyric; “Take me to the start where our worlds collide” tells us that they want to go back to when they first met, and relive that experience all over again. One of the lyrics in the chorus really stands out to me too – “Stuck in a memory, I never wanna leave” shows us that the person is constantly reliving the time they spend together, and never wants to leave that moment in time. As the chorus is repeated throughout the song, I feel as though that feeling of missing someone and wanting to relive the moments and time they spend together is a huge part of their feelings.

‘Fear’ is the next song off of the EP. The song has a similar start to ‘So Sick’ with low bass and synth used. The song seems to be about being put in a situation that they want to get out of, which is shown in the lyrics “Walking on a tightrope / Running with my eyes closed / Looking for a cheat code” is telling us that the person wants to find a way to get out of the situation, by looking for an easy way out. The chorus ends with “Get me out of here” which reinforces the above point, where the character portrayed wants to leave the situation they’re in. That lyric is also repeated multiple times in the second verse, which shows how much they want to leave the situation. 

‘Waves’ is a song written about “how life feels like getting repeatedly hit with waves and you can’t come up for air” – as said by Will Irvine, the lead singer of Daytime TV. The song starts with an extract recorded in an airport, which is extremely unique and something I’ve not heard before. The song’s chorus says “There’s only so much I can take before I run for cover”, which shows us that although you can take hits from the waves of life, there’s only so much each and every one of us can take before we break and flee, which is a normal human feeling. The song kind of validates our feelings in that way, because it’s normalising not being okay and asking for help. “I push it out of sight like everything I’ve ever known” however, shows us that the character can just forget about it, and push it to one side to forget about it. Each person deals with things their own ways, whether that’s running away from them or pushing them to the side and forgetting about it.

‘Block Out The Noise’ was the first single to be released from the EP. The song is about trying to block out any negative influences that are around. This is also portrayed extremely well in their music video, which was filmed in an extremely dark recording studio in Manchester. The song is also quite a contrast to the rest of the album, having a chant in the chorus, which can bring a sense of unity into their concerts and in a way, creating a wall to block out those negative influences. 

All in all, the EP is, although a largely different sound to their debut album, still shows the progression of the band in the best way, creating things that they enjoy themselves that fans love. The only song not released as a single before release is “So Sick”, so fans already have a good idea of what the EP sounds like with the new Daytime TV sound!

‘Island’ is OUT NOW

You can catch Daytime TV live across Scotland this month playing intimate in stores with Assai Records, or supporting The Feeling in Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow.

4 May – O2 Institute, Birmingham (supporting The Feeling)
5 May – Tramshed, Cardiff (supporting The Feeling)
7 May – Assai, Dundee
8 May – Assai, Edinburgh
10 May – Assai, Glasgow
9 May – Slay, Glasgow (supporting The Feeling)