But the unease that Melbourne alt-pop musician Daine contemplates on their debut album In Endless Awe & Agony — the flattening of culture, class competition’s chokehold on creativity, battling subconscious desires — is not an easy pill to swallow. But a teetering glockenspiel continues to imbue the track with a sentimental twinkle even when their voice begins to curdle into an acidic scream during the chorus. It’s like watching someone dawn a Pan Am smile while wielding a knife.
I’m initially supposed to meet with Daine to chat over lunch, but our meeting shifts to a Zoom call as they recover from a cold. They’re resting up for their listening album party later at the Carriage House in lower Manhattan: "I've got to lock the fuck in and pretend like I'm totally fine." They say this in a chill manner, excited to see their friends but bummed they won’t be able to give them full energy. It feels like a symbolic starting point for our conversation which evolves from the difficulty of working in this industry, being at the forefront of a business, and shifting through a business that is bloated with both artificiality and existentialism.
The Filipino-Australian artist began releasing music in 2020 when they were a teenager. They’ve worked with Bring Me The Horizon’s Oli Sykes, Ericdoa, and Ninajirachi, and had support slots for Yeule, 100 Gecs, and Charli XCX. Their 11-track album, which was worked on with former boyfriend Curtis Pawley, Armlock’s Simon Lam, and Darcy Baylis, is a way to understand the industry they’ve maneuvered the past several years.
They describe it as a "Jungian individuation arc" in which the creative process allowed subconscious meditations to reveal themselves. In Endless Awe & Agony touches on the interlacing of pleasure and violence and the hard truth that nothing lasts. It’s complicated and strange, same with the sonic mirrors of Midwest screamo, the Pixies, Alex G, Soccer Mommy, Architecture In Helsinki, and Hello, Goodbye.
It’s the sound of plushness and loaded guns. The result is something that pendulums between dangerous, comforting, and enticing. Is is it wrong that I fuck with this and that I aspire to this lifestyle?'" Listen to In Endless Awe & Agony and read our chat below.
How has the lead up to the album been so far? DAINE: It's been really busy. It's my first time doing an album rollout, so I didn't realize how much pressure it would be.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
