Every Good Story Ends in Tragedy – DaySick (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

It’s all about knowing how to make an entrance, or in the case of DaySick, a triumphant return. Although things might have seemed quiet in the DaySick camp in the last year or so, they haven’t been idle, far from it, proof of which comes from the fact that they are back, not only with a new album, but a bold and brilliant new direction.

Every Good Story Ends in Tragedy is, let’s be honest, a concept album. But forget all ideas of triple albums of prog-infused escapism and keyboard players dressed as wizards, this is a concept album in as much as it is an album of concepts – thoughts, events, emotions, and ideas – surrounding its central character.

A biography in eight musical chapters, each song on Every Good Story Ends in Tragedy, reveals another stage of the protagonist’s journey through regret, self-discovery, and redemption following a near-death experience.

This may be a concept album, and it may mark a new direction for the band, but the music still pulses with their perfect blend of muscle and melody, groove and grit. “Retry,” which opens the album, is a neat blend of space and staccato riffs, broadening its sonic scope into squalling, widescreen indie-rock sonics when required, and a perfect way to open up and introduce this new sonic venture.

And from there, they mix and match everything from rock (alt- and otherwise) to pop-punk, heavy metal to punk proper, hard-hitting indie, and even some, if not quite pop sounds, then certainly pop-aware ideas.

“Optimist” runs on tight, pop-punk grooves, a decleration of being lost, an acceptance of finding yourself in a state of free-fall as punky threads battle with sonic spatial awareness for control, “Jealous” is a neat slice of alt-rock, brash and bold, big and clever and “No Lyrics” heads to more commercial, anthemic indie realms.

This is a good story, and it does end in tragedy… in that “Tragedy” is the name of the last song. But where do we leave our hero? Well, that’s for you to find out. Give the album a spin (better still, buy it!) and see where it takes you.

It’s a fantastic return for DaySick, an album which sees them coming back with renewed purpose, greater focus, a fantastic set of songs, and a tremendous story to tell. It’s the band still making a sound that existing fans will be familiar with, but taking it to a new level, new heights, giving it new purpose.

They say a change is as good as a rest… DaySick has done both, and the results speak volumes.