People Chasing People – The Dayglow Light of Sleep / 2004 Milquetoast Recordings / 13 Tracks / http://www.peoplechasingpeople.com / http://www.milquetoastrecords.com / Reviewed 21 January 2005
Its some of the hardest-hitting emo music that I’ve heard since the new My Chemical Romance or Coheed and Cambria’s new CDs came out. However, what makes this disc so different from the two previously mentioned is the intensity in which it (through “You Are Loved”) holds. This mixture of masterful arrangement, solid musicianship, and an ear for pop-perfection is what makes People Chasing People such an impressive band. The iconic drums found during “Break the Itty-Bittys” push listeners to the breaking point – immediately reminiscent of At The Drive-In, People Chasing People deconstruct civilization and in its place erect the emotional human. The more sedate sound of a track like “Yelling At Cops” further flesh out a band that is already diverse in influences and overall sound. Still, People Chasing People are of a strong enough state of mind to create a slower-tempo track that is beautiful and yet burning with the fury of the rest of the disc. “A Weightless World” continues the slower approach by People Chasing People, and the extended length and spacey-guitar lines of the track admittedly start to drag.
Immediately taking up the bass, Chad changes the entire feel of the disc during the beginning bars of “Come Up and See Me”. The later part of “The Dayglow Light of Sleep” vacillates between the intensity of the earliest throes of the disc and the more sedate tones of the middle, but never becomes tiring or boring in the slightest. The mastering of this disc allows for a rich, vibrant sound but never once sucks the soul from the humans that put the music forward. What is left is a solid disc, musically, in mastering, and any other way one can categorize. The sly chorus of the band’s name found on “One Cool Astronaut”, besides being an earworm, is reminiscent of early-nineties music (mainly REM and Soul Asylum).
Overall, “The Dayglow Light of Sleep” is the culmination of the current “emo” movement with practically every meaningful movement of the last fifteen years. A track like “Fire Burns” users Rage Against the Machine-like guitar solos, Rusted Root-like bass lines, along with the rock-blueprints that fuel the rest of the disc. A synthesizer sputters on “Had Enough Yet?”, aided by sharp, angular guitar lines – People Chasing People do the work of three or four different bands and yet are still relevant and coherent enough to make “The Dayglow Light of Sleep” into a single experience.
Top Tracks: One Cool Astronaut, Break The Itty-Bitty
Rating: 8.6/10