On their sophomore album, Daughter more or less successfully branch out and offer a more diverse palette of sounds than on their debut. The songs are easier to tell apart and have more distinct identities, it sounds a much less samey than their debut, which pretty much stuck to one sound. The Shoegaze/Rock sound of 'How' would have felt out of place on the debut, as would the fast-paced 'No Care', for example.
What they gained in diversity, they have lost in songwriting, partly. Tracks like 'Mothers' or 'Made of Stone' are quite bland (but still, well pretty). I like them, I really like Daughter's sound and they are great for night drives or to just sit and drink wine to in a dark room. But even then, the gloominess is just so suffocating. And I'm a huge fan not only of 90s Emo but also sad bastards like Sun Kil Moon or Elliot Smith. But Daughter just shove their sadness down your throat at times. It seems so deliberately sad at times, you know? Anyways, still like the album even though it has a weirdly annoying aftertaste.
By: StayGold.