A Farewell Design’s new EP Before Daylight opens with “Help to Lie,” and within a few seconds I had a feeling I would connect with what was coming. The song has a looseness that instantly brought me back to the ’90s, my favorite decade for music, when things felt less polished and more lived-in. There’s a trace of Dave Matthews in the rhythm, but also a swirl of alternative influences that make it hard to pin down. It’s both familiar and slightly askew, which is part of what hooked me.
“Jesters and Spies” shifts the mood. The guitars carry a hall reverb that gives the track a sense of space, while the vocal melody almost drifts into something that reminded me of a sea shanty. I liked that curveball, and the orchestration around it felt intentional without being overdone. The vocals themselves stand out here, dynamic enough to keep the song from settling into any one shape.
Then comes “51A,” which plays like a love letter to pop-punk. It’s fast, restless, and built around explosive sections that feel like they were made for sweaty basement shows. I found myself drawn to the bass tone in particular, and the way the palm-muted guitars lock in with it. It has a kind of kinetic charm that made it one of the EP’s most immediate songs.
“Jealous of the Ghosts” pulls the EP in an entirely different direction. Instead of chasing speed or volume, it leans closer to Leonard Cohen’s somber territory. It’s restrained, almost haunting, and the stylistic shift caught me off guard. I liked that it broke from expectation and showed another side of what the band can do.
The closer, “Did I Do That?,” ties everything together with one of the strongest performances on the record. The drumming is sharp and propulsive, but what really grabbed me was how the song channels the mid-2000s indie rock moment. At times it brushes against Arcade Fire’s grandiosity, other times it edges toward the folk-leaning uplift of The Lumineers. It feels expansive without losing the intimacy that carries through the EP.
What I appreciate most about this collection is its willingness to move between moods and styles without pretending to have a single, fixed identity. Some listeners will gravitate toward the punk-inspired rush, others toward the quieter stretches, but for me it works best as a snapshot of a band willing to stretch across eras and genres. If you grew up on ’90s rock or still find yourself replaying mid-2000s indie, there’s a good chance you’ll find something here that resonates.