Austin, Texas-based duo Slept All Day craft an impactful sound throughout their second album Yutori, a conceptual release that embraces the concept of its Japanese namesake. “Yutori” means “spaciousness” or “room to breathe” — and as such, the album conceptually addresses the importance of living in the present moment. Each of the seven songs represents a memory that was cherished and lived in the moment, set within an array of melodically memorable soundscapes — from the vibrant dreamy rock of “Seagulls in the Waves” to serenely developing stunners like “Ice Cream Dreams.
Album opener “Seagulls in the Waves” pairs caressingly melodic charm and poetic lyrical introspection. Ocean-set ambience, with waves coming into shore amidst the sounds of seagulls, moves into jangly guitar warmness and a lush vocal presence, tonally reminiscent of Damon Albarn. The track’s aquatic imagery plays as an effective metaphor for navigating the world’s constant demands; references to “seagulls in the waves” and the “wake that tumbled you” convey the push/pull of external noise against internal peace. “I sailed on my decisions, they weren’t always good,” the vocals stir during a burst of added guitar vibrancy; both that expansive section and the dreamier verses wholly consume.
A dash of familiarity then arises with the classic “Pure Imagination,” from the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Of course, the band’s take on it is strikingly different — and beautifully so. Clanking, sporadic guitar and warming bass build with anticipatory intrigue, then giving way to both moments of free-flowing guitar fervency and serenely layered entrancement. Its invitation to “see the world go by” plays like a meditative prompt for presence, while the familiar track choice resonates within the concept of memory.
Beach-set memories return with “Summer Tide,” its immediate depictions of feeling “the breeze” swelling from hypnotic, soaring qualities to a brief spacious dreaminess and blissful “lose your mind in the summertime” hook. A magical summer night establishes itself as a memory, where conversation and connection help guide the mind entirely to the present, at least until daylight. The ensuing “If we stop in the forest, do we become the trees?” treks to a glimmering atmosphere, with chirping birds and illuminated skies. A heartbeat-like throbbing builds climactically alongside, cohesively mingling with twangy guitar tones and glistening effects; it’s a lovely midpoint track on the album, resembling Oneohtrix Point Never in its dynamic, cinematic glow.
The album continues to fully immerse successfully itself in memorable melodies and its conceptual aims across the second half. “Swim Club” captures the balmy, sun-kissed state of mind at a swimming pool, clear in its nostalgic recollections of a “midday swim,” where the “summer solstice” acts as a portal for cherished memories to surface, often resulting in realizations that those best memories were lived in the present.
Beginning with a lush Japanese vocal sample and tender acoustics, “Ice Cream Dreams” then plays as a hauntingly intimate perspective within the concept of spaciousness, as one retreats from the external world into the infinite, lulling expanse of “nights in bed” with smitten, loving sentiments on their mind. Album finale “Painting the walls in the room of your mind” continues that nocturnal, lullaby-like charm, floating along seamlessly amidst slight wordless vocals and twinkling keys, resembling a busy mind finally at rest. Fully succeeding in its conceptual interpretation living in the moment, and also its strongly melodic form, Yutori is a shining success from Slept All Day.
