It's not uncommon for those bands able to conjure rich textures to also be somewhat melodically deficient. It is, after all, very difficult to build a world from the ground up while also keeping things snappy. Daughter are not entirely immune to the issue, but never do they get entirely carried away and ditch the songs altogether.
‘Not To Disappear’ is an album of sweeping scope and deft execution, but also one with a beating heart. As often as it ventures out into territories often occupied by the most emotive post-rock bands, it looks inward and revels in moments of quiet reflection.
Elena Tonra is again instrumental in ensuring this balance is maintained. She uses her voice as further shading for the whole, complementing some intelligent guitar lines and leaving poignant words to be picked over and reinterpreted the second, third or fourth time around.
Much like its predecessor, ‘If You Leave’, this is an album that swims in dense, emotive atmospherics, but this time around Tonra’s open-book lyrics twist and turn into new shapes as Igor Haefeli and RemiAguilella let the shackles fall more often.
There are moments here, notably the skittering percussion and undulating guitars of No Care, the trippy phrasing of Alone/With You or the grind of To Belong, where thematic and sonic elements coalesce in a manner Daughter haven’t quite nailed down previously. “No one asks me for dances, because I only know how to flail,” Tonra sings over an insistent kick on the former. “I always look like I’m drowning, dead arms around him.”
Doing The Right Thing, which slowly unfurls over guitar fuzz redolent of the Jesus and Mary Chain, fuses a heartbreaking lyric about a slow slide into dementia with a melody that hangs in the air before floating clear. “One day soon, I’ll lose my mind,” Tonra sings. “Then I’ll lose my children. Then I’ll lose my love. Then I’ll sit in silence, let the pictures soak out of televisions.”
‘Not To Disappear’ is a record capable of real insight and emotional weight, but it’s also one that trips over similar stumbling blocks to ‘If You Leave’ from time to time. Segments of it have a transient quality, with a number of songs drifting in and out without pressing the listener to investigate further. Only over time, and with perseverance, does its depth become apparent.
There is a sense throughout, too, that Daughter have more experimenting to do. This is a record of subtle shifts rather than drastic overhauls. As such, it rubber stamps their promise and hints at an expansive future.
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