Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Day<\/p>\n
Review by Michelle Leung<\/p>\n
Underground pop artist Tiffany Day released the bold, hyperpop-forward album \u201cHALO\u201d on April 3, marking a darker, EDM-inspired sonic chapter in her career. The Toronto-born, Chinese-American, singer-songwriter-producer has steadily risen in popularity, currently holding around 900K monthly listeners on Spotify. Day\u2019s \u201cHALO\u201d Release Show tour will begin in Toronto on April 13th, and she will visit New York before wrapping up on April 15th in Chicago.<\/span><\/p>\n A 2017 YouTube acoustic guitar cover of \u201cHallelujah\u201d by Leonard Cohen spotlighted Day\u2019s potential at just age 15. While Day\u2019s early music and first few EPs were rooted in dreamy bedroom pop and stripped-back acoustics, her second studio album \u201cHALO\u201d is a definite departure from her previous projects. No doubt influenced by her foray into DJ\u2019ing at house parties and even nail salons, the electronic EDM LP leads listeners into a beat-heavy, experimental rave-like space.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHALO\u201d starts with \u201cEVERYTHING I\u2019VE EVER WANTED,\u201d a contemplative, vocal-forward song featuring repetitive electronic synthesizers and keys. The stream-of-consciousness songwriting only leaves the smallest space for Day to breathe in between sentences, as she laments feeling irrationally terrified of the successes and amazing opportunities that have come her way. Other artists, like Alec Benjamin with \u201cIf We Have Each Other\u201d and mxmtoon with \u201cgrowing pains,\u201d have utilized this structure which centers a short story instead of the instrumentals. More and more harmonies layer over Day\u2019s main vocal with the help of a vocoder as the track ramps up with the addition of more instruments. She sings: \u201cWhen something good comes crashing into me it\u2019s like I can\u2019t breathe \/ \u2018Cause all I think about is when that good thing finally leaves.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The track transitions seamlessly into the rhythmic, bass-heavy \u201cDOIT4ME,\u201d highlighting a clean synth that\u2019s immediately danceable. Day plays around with vocal chops as she asks the question, \u201cWho would you do it for? \/ Would you do it for me?\u201d This refrain is repeated countless times, adding to the chaotic, busy nature of the song\u2019s production.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSAME LA\u201d pulls back, starting with an upbeat, electric guitar before peppering in a strong bass and bright piano. She discusses the intense desire to connect with those around her, despite being limited by her own mind and feeling like she exists in another world. Day utilizes various beeping and electronic samples throughout the track so it can sound and feel fuller. She continues to remix vocal chops into the final chorus and hook, fleshing out an intricately detailed and cohesive musical landscape.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPRETTY4U\u201d returns to the anxiety-ridden hyperpop that defines the album. Day\u2019s clear, silvery tone contrasting with the pulsing side-chained synths in an unexpectedly perfect combination. The repetitive lyrics don\u2019t bore the listener \u2014 in fact, the production could be described as hyperactive, adding and removing drums, bass, and samples with nearly every single measure that passes. Each rendition of \u201cI can be pretty for you \/ I can be pretty too\u201d feels new and exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n Day continues to explore the cavernous emptiness she experiences through transparent, striking storytelling in \u201cCOPYCAT,\u201d \u201cNO LUCK,\u201d \u201cBREAKUP,\u201d \u201cTELL ME WHAT I DID,\u201d and \u201cSTART OVER.\u201d With lyrics like \u201cI\u2019m stuck at home \/ And my room\u2019s filled with unwanted friends,\u201d Day details the tumultuous lack of self-worth she battles when it comes to her career and her self-image. In the music video for \u201cBREAKUP,\u201d Day is filmed in clear anguish, holding up finger guns to herself and her supposed partner as the video glitches back and forth between the current moment and the same scene mere seconds later.<\/span><\/p>\n Returning to the idea of Day\u2019s constant indignance and worries, \u201cLOOK UP\u201d doesn\u2019t shy away from themes of outrage and betrayal, which are directed at a previous role-model-turned-stranger who had inspired her. The two-minute track is direct, where she expresses \u201cYou got me so so up in my head \/ I really used to look up to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAMERICAN GIRL\u201d encapsulates Day\u2019s yearning to establish her identity and break out of society\u2019s mold, detailing the anxiety that overwhelms her while trying to make new friends and fit in. The recurring refrain \u201cI promise you \/ Do anything you want me to\u201d accentuates this scarcely-hidden desperation. In line with the rest of the album, the production ramps up into a measured cacophony of voices and various EDM-inspired synths and samples as it barrels to its conclusion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFAREWELL TOLEDO\u201d begins to scale back as the album approaches its end, maintaining a stripped backbeat and relying on comforting guitar and softer alternative drums to decorate the background. While still existing in an electronic space, Day\u2019s pop songwriting shines in a quieter track.<\/span><\/p>\n Another song featuring introspective, hard-hitting lyrics neatly ties the bow on the gift of \u201cHALO.\u201d \u201cIT\u2019S NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE\u201d delves into the crushing, heartbreaking loneliness Day suffers, as she continually wonders, \u201cWould anyone notice if I disappeared?\u201d Her candid narration explodes into a swelling, conclusive answer to her own inquiries, where she admits \u201cNo one can love me like myself \/ No one\u2019s responsible but me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHALO\u201d is Tiffany Day\u2019s volatile expression of rocketing into adulthood while grappling with her complicated identity, relationships, and budding fame. Despite being compared to artists like 2hollis, she\u2019s steadfastly carving her own path into the vast world of hyperpop, electronic, and EDM fusion music. \u201cHALO\u201d marks only the beginning of Day\u2019s genre experimentation, and she plans to continue developing her rebranded sound with sincerity and a newfound, unapologetic confidence. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo Courtesy of Tiffany Day Review by Michelle Leung Underground pop artist Tiffany Day released the bold, hyperpop-forward album \u201cHALO\u201d on April 3, marking a darker, EDM-inspired sonic chapter in her career. The Toronto-born, Chinese-American, singer-songwriter-producer has steadily risen in popularity, currently holding around 900K monthly listeners on Spotify. Day\u2019s \u201cHALO\u201d Release Show tour will […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25741,"featured_media":53807,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1524,1523],"tags":[2691,2690],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53805"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25741"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53805"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53808,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53805\/revisions\/53808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}