SG65: Layday - sun machine [EP]

Self-described as “glitch pop at low tide,” Layday is a bedroom dream pop project from Lacanau, France. His 2024 EP sun machine is a gorgeous mix of warm, guitar-laden melodies and earnest vocals, ultimately about “giving time to let things bloom and holding on to our beliefs with strength against people, doubt, and struggles.” Recorded in just a few weeks with a friend, the album was created with minimal equipment, built around drum machines and a tape recorder. “All the rest,” according to Layday, “is as organic as possible to allow the summer haze to course through the song.”

sun machine, in that sense, is equal parts modern and nostalgic, with an eortlessly hazy quality to soundtrack bouts of daydreaming. “what is next” and "wash over me” both have a cinematic, slightly ruminative tone, while “my aquarium” showcases stunning guitar melodies that shimmer with radiance. Sandwiched by the instrumental title track as well as closer “anyways,” sun machine becomes less of an album and more of a narrative set to music.