It’s a phrase nobody has ever actually said, which is probably the point. THANK GOD IT’S ALMOST MONDAY is the second full-length album from San Diego’s almost monday. It came out on the 9th of September through Hollywood Records: 13 songs in 42 minutes. Singer Dawson Daugherty, bassist Luke Fabry and guitarist Cole Clisby met in high school in San Diego’s North County. Fabry and Daugherty had been friends since childhood, and Daugherty met Clisby surfing. That sun-and-salt origin story has been baked into their sound ever since. There’s a Kiwi thread running through it too. Most of the album was made with their regular producer Simon Oscroft, whose credits include OneRepublic, The Naked and Famous and Pale Waves. Aucklander Alisa Xayalith sang backing vocals on “can’t slow down”, the song that changed everything for them. It became their first number one on US alternative radio, and the band spent the time since touring the world and selling out headline shows.
That success came at a cost. Daugherty has spoken about months away from his wife wearing him down, while the band was also dealing with a traumatic personal loss. They describe the result as a record made “during the best and worst year of our lives.” What’s remarkable is how little of that weight shows on the surface. This is still a bright, big-hooked indie-pop record, but the sadness is folded into it rather than hidden. The early run is the strongest stretch, with the groove of “delicate,” the swagger of “class a” and single “no more regrets.” “skinny dip” is the moment the band sounds most like nobody else. Closer “better late than never” was the last song written for the album, and it ended up pulling the whole record together around one idea: it’s never too late to become the person you’re meant to be. In Daugherty’s words, “the biggest regret would be to not even try.”
The critics are split on whether the polish helps or hurts. New Noise felt that in places everything has been buffed so smooth that few rough edges remain, while still singling out “class a,” “losing streak” and “skinny dip” as the sound of a more interesting band breaking through. Melodic heard new confidence in the opening tracks and named “better late than never” the album’s highlight, calling it an 80s-flavoured synth-pop summer anthem. Our take: it’s a feel-good record by a band that has earned the right to feel good, and there’s more going on underneath than the sunshine suggests. Perfect timing, too, with spring finally arriving here.
New Zealand Net Radio plays a song from our irregularly updated #albumoftheweek every hour from 9am to 12pm. Listen on our website - https://www.nznetradio.net.nz/listen
