Imagine it’s a spring evening. It’s getting chilly, and you put your sweater on. As you walk through the cherry blossoms, through your headphones plays “Hold on”, a new song by Vancouver’s own Dacey. You tap your foot on the beat, your hands sway on their own, and you have somehow started walking according to the music’s pace. You sway your head side to side, nodding to a passerby. Then you reach the Stanley Park waterfront, the beautiful boats glisten, as the next song, “See Thru Me,” plays. The instruments are made to be listened to next to water. You notice little details you never would have if you had blasted this on your car speaker. Like how the sound sometimes comes out from one speaker, the hushed whispers are clear now.
You stop and stare at the water for a bit. There’s something magical about feeling music, really feeling it, as if you are living it. You continue walking and are now heading towards the city. The music shifts with you, and it’s changed to “Bitter” now. The mechanical beat of the instruments and Darcy’s voice is much stronger now. You feel an extra pep in your step, you are feeling vengeful as she sings, “Movin on boy, you made your mind late, cause all you are is another weight of mistake.” You want to mess it up, you want him to feel regret for what he’s done. Who is this he? Who knows? Maybe it’s who broke Dacey’s heart, maybe it’s a hypothetical guy, maybe it’s someone from your own life. But that feeling is there. Finally, the encore comes on, it’s just Darcy and some background singers with a guitar, almost accepting what has happened, this feeling of redemption as the music picks up again.
You search her up, and what do you know?
She is from Vancouver and her band is called Dacey named after her and she’s the lead singer. They are a five-member band that met at Vancouver’s Nimbus School of Recording and Media. She’s grown up in a musical family, where her dad had all these old cassettes of the Beatles, James Brown. All the band members also have strengths in different genres, with Marco, the drummer, being an indie rock type of guy, and Nate (the guitarist) being a metal type of guy. Josh (bass) comes from electronic music, and Justin (guitarist/ production) comes from jazz. Hence, the genre-defying music they put out makes sense. The production is a masterpiece. Very high-end, especially when you wear headphones and hear the sound going from one ear to another, sometimes one ear is completely mute while the other shines. Sometimes it’s just the vocals, depending on what the music calls for.
For the production alone, Justin needs to be known as a smooth operator.
You are in awe of the song lyrics and flawless rhythm. These are songs that you know took months to make. You continue listening to all their new music as you head home. The more you listen, the more you want to dance, sometimes groove, sometimes use your entire body, sometimes just a tap. By now you know they are a sacred part of your playlist now.
Pre save their new album “Call me your sunshine” coming out on October 10!