Review Summary: things change, i can't change that
While
Pastlife is, allegedly, about the impossibility of returning to the past, it sure sounds a whole lot like its 2017 predecessor
The Days We Had. This new album is a carefree dream pop project accompanied by mastermind Jackson Phillips’ big words, yet lives and dies by its familiarities. Every melody is entirely pleasant - except for those sung by a very unfortunate KennyHoopla feature - while consistently bordering on unadventurous or unmemorable. There’s occasional highlights - “Blue” is explicitly
lush and “Heart to Rest” injects some much needed energy into the album - but, for the most part, Day Wave seems happy retreading the unambitious pleasantries of mid-2010’s bedroom-drem. Where I was desperately trying to finish high school to the sounds of the artist’s first record, I am now desperately trying to finish a masters degree to the sounds of his second record. Things have changed, but they also kind of haven’t. Day Wave has changed, but he also kind of hasn’t. As long as that complacency constructs music such as the love(ab)ly (inoffensive)
Pastlife, I’m okay with it.
