Why wasn’t this released in summer?
This was the most recurring thought I had while listening to “Dive,” a new album from Almost Monday, a San-Diego based pop band.
The album starts with distorted vocals saying, “I wanna dive in / to a dream that I want to see / where all the colors shine / can I see you tonight?”
A great opening to an album, I thought. But the further I listened, the more I kept thinking how much it sounds like things I’ve heard before from other indie artists, such as the Wallows, Clairo, or the Good Neighbours.
The album starts strong with very upbeat tempos and entertaining lyrics, which don’t say much but are fun nonetheless. “Dive” stays that way — but the persistent electronic, upbeat tempos become tiresome after several songs.
For instance, the fifth track, “She Likes Sports,” like all the other songs, is optimally upbeat and amusing and has a strong, catchy bridge. But the rest of the song is just plain with lyrics that while catchy and fun say nothing new and lost my attention very quickly.
“Dive” consists of 11 songs, a full playing time of 28 minutes. I was entertained for about 45% of the album, and during others all I wanted to do was flat-out skip a song.
This album would probably please someone who is more into indie pop music, with lots of electronic instrumental and a bit of “grunge” vocals.
Because of these electronic tempos, on the album, “Dive” would have been a better fit if it were released in July rather than September, when fall is beginning and people are starting to look for more cozy music, with slower, less electronic beats.
With the excessive upbeat electronic sound, “Dive” is a much better fit for summer, while people are looking for more ‘hype’ music to fit a warm, sunny day.
With the blaring upbeat tempos that hide catchy, yet simplistic, lyrics, “Dive” would catch attention better if it were released in summer. It has many summery metaphors, such as in their ninth track “Sunburn,” when they create a metaphor of an ex partner as “always being that sunburn on me.”
Overall, “Dive” is a decent album, which is enjoyable to listen to — but it does require a very specific taste to indie pop music, and in the end I don’t see this album as one I will be giving a re-listen to, at least not until next summer.
