Daughter – Stereo Mind Game

It’s been a long while since Daughter have released an album, but ‘Stereo Mind Game’ is certainly worth the wait. Reminiscent of their 2013 release ‘If You Leave’, the album is an emotive conceptual journey which documents themes of isolation and separation – something which the pandemic made us all feel.

Fittingly, the crescendo instrumental opening the album alludes to the imagery of opening pandora’s box. Aka the box of separation and distance, which Daughter unpack in this album. ‘Be On Your Way’ was the first single released from this record which introduced these motifs, as Elena Tonra sings: “I will meet you on another planet if the plans change…” This emotive lyricism paired with track’s strong instrumental backing of strings and drums recurs in ‘Swim Back’ and ‘To Rage’, where the album benefits from the cohesive band, made up of Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella, and the feature of London-based string orchestra, String Ensemble. ‘Neptune’ is another particularly powerful moment as a choir is introduced, adding to the ethereal nature of the song and alluding to imagery of a strong collective.

Daughter play even more to their musical versatility as the inclusion of modular effects, reminiscent of their video-game supporting album ‘Music From Before The Storm’, in ‘Missed Calls’ creates a haunting and glitchy sound, a welcome change from the guitar and drum led tracks. ‘Missed Calls’ and ‘Wish I Could Cross The Sea’ also include clips of phone calls and voicemails, emphasising the overarching album arc of longing and separation and highlighting the intricacies behind the thought put into the record.

The lyricism is what makes the album escalate from good to great. ‘Junkmail’ sees Tonra slip into what seems like a stream of consciousness of poetry, and ‘Isolation’ lets the optimistic undertone of the album be unearthed as the singer concludes: “I can’t tell if this is better to be left another lesson learned?” It’s the smoother, vocal-focussed tracks which allow for the listener to comprehend the thinking behind the album’s story, with ‘Future Lover’ being another one of these.

With a captivating and carefully created listen, Daughter are well and truly back. If this is what their comeback entails, I can’t wait to see what the future holds for them.

8/10

Words: Amrit Virdi

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