New Lilystars signings Day & Dream from North Carolina offer up a taste of their transformative dream pop: a gorgeous-sounding mood piece that’s both inward-looking and evocative of the great outdoors.
In much the same way we discover our deepest loves—and not quite dissimilar to how this humble little label stumbles on great new discoveries—North Carolina dream pop duo Day & Dream have had to trip upon interesting off-tangent nuggets in their search for, well, something else.
That’s what “rabbit hole” means, and that’s what “Rabbit Hole” is purportedly about.
But beyond idiom and writing prompt, the group (comprised of singer-keyboardist Abby Amaya and guitarist and electronic drummer Peter Frizzante) is providing us with apt mood music for when we find ourselves “on a path of unending scrolling and getting lost,” as they told us over e-mail.
The track, reminiscent of a gamut of artists on the sun-kissed, reverb-drenched side of things—Alvvays and Slowdive, certainly, but also slivers of Real Estate and Yumi Zouma—is infectious, smart, and a shoo-in for quiet moments of introspection.
“[It’s] a nice, sweet spot for us, pretty indie rock. Definitely in our wheelhouse,” the duo says, further expressing excitement at having churned “a more Cornelius-esque instrumental section” that highlights keys, drums (Matt Hendler), and bass (Daniel Hyman).
As mentioned, the literal baseline of the single found its real-life beginnings when Pete and Abby would routinely go on deep web searches for interests that piqued their fancy. For the former it was health and musical equipment, while for the latter, interior design and building supplies.
“For Abby, that storyline of taking a risk following the white rabbit—and seeing where you end up—is classic, and [also] a wonderful lesson in taking leaps of faith for personal growth,” the duo shares, beaming almost audibly at how such a non-musical pursuit would yield a thing of profound beauty.
Similar to everybody else, the quarantine had an overwhelming effect on the band’s creative process.
“This particular set of songs has been quite challenging to complete, with so many people in different places. Typically, we love to work as a group in an intimate setting and take a trip somewhere to record in a more memorable way,” they say, expressing hopes of getting back to touring at the soonest possible time.
“We’ve been sitting on so much material this past year and are eager to get back out on the road and travel. We’ve also been working on lots of music videos we can’t wait to share,” the duo adds.
For now, let “Rabbit Hole” transport you away from the despicable here-and-now.