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Daydreamer boasts a sharper, much cleaner production approach and a bit more pop than Burch’s previous records, thanks to producer Jack Tatum (Wild Nothing). “I had worked withJack before on our co-written song ‘Emotion’ that we put out in 2020,” Burch says. “When deciding who would produce Daydreamer I knew I wanted it to be Jack as soon as I started writing. We have similar taste and sensibilities and I look up to him so much.” There are Japanese city pop inspirations, horns, strings, and more ballads, with a throughline of Molly’s masterful, shimmering vocals taking center stage. The result is music that feels stirring and sweeping, pulling in sounds and influences of the past, while also propelling Burch into a further development of herself as an artist.
On the surface, lead single “Physical” is a dark and sultry ‘80s mid-tempo jam with an intro that could very well be on the soundtrack to a John Carpenter horror film. It’s the first song Burch and Tatum worked on together, setting the tone for the rest of the record’s sound. It’s also about Burch’s public struggles with PMS, but with lyrics broad enough that anyone without PMS can relate. The album also returns to themes that have become somewhat of a signature for Burch, such as unrequited love on “Unconditional.” “This song sounds like a traditional love song, but I wrote it thinking about the music business while feeling the constant ups and downs of it all. A big part of pursuing a creative job is being okay with the roller coaster of emotions which can be exhausting. This is my way of expressing that through a narrative of being ghosted by another person,” Burch says. “Baby Watch My Tears Dry” confronts frustrations with the lingering voices in one’s own head: “I wrote this song while I was promoting my last album in the middle of the pandemic. I was heavily focused on external opinions, letting them dictate my self worth. This song is for anyone who feels like they could cry an ocean of tears”.
And then there’s “Tattoo,” one of the more emotional songs on the album, where Burch writes an ode to her best friend in high school who took her own life in 2009. It’s the longest Burch has ever taken to write a song, an ethereal ballad featuring sweeping harp and backup vocals from Hannah Kim (Luna Li). Of her friend, Burch says, “In 9th grade, she accompanied me on guitar the very first time I sang in front of people. She was such a big part of my musical journey. On paper we didn’t make sense as best friends, she was larger than life while I was constantly trying to shrink myself, but we balanced each other out in a beautiful way. “Tattoo” is a love letter to her, and I hope it does her justice.”
Though the album spends time with mournful, anxious reflections, the songs on Daydreamer never feel bogged down in bleakness or morbidity. Burch’s ability to take the darkest moments of her life and translate them to a universal language lays the ground for her most masterful pop writing to-date. Daydreamer is dedicated not only to her thirteen year-old self, but the thirteen year-old selves of listeners that still lingers within them. As children, we escape the world and our scariest thoughts through daydreaming. When Burch was a kid, she would daydream about how life would look when she was older, when she’d presumably have all her shit together. Now, as an adult, she finds herself daydreaming about what’s next in life, what she’ll create in the future, and the person she wants to be. The chorus of album closer “Bed” repeats the expression, “you’ve made your bed, now lie in it.” Burch says, “this is me taking responsibility for my current state in life, acknowledging my past, while moving forward with a newfound appreciation for my journey.”