Daphne and The Fuzz

After the success of their eponymous debut album, it was clear that Daphne and The Fuzz were going to be at a bit of a crossroads when it came time to follow up. Would they try to recreate their primary Abbey Road-esque/60s soul-pop influences or would they continue to evolve? In their sophomore album, 2 AM, released in October 2018 via Inner Ear, they opt for the latter, delivering a follow-up work that is more uplifting and danceable. The end product is a more extroverted sound compared to their debut that owes more to MGMT than the Beatles, managing to be kaleidoscopic without being extreme.

Daphne Lz, the brains behind this Athens-based project, has taken a more dynamic approach to songwriting on 2 AM, tossing aside the bluesy atmosphere of songs like “Unexistable” in favour of rhythms that build in a more upbeat and colourful way. Vasilis Nissopoulos — also a member of Whereswilder  —  produced the album and the Greek electronic artist NTEIBINT, added his own indie-dance and nu-disco flavours to the mixing. From the opening moments of the sublime “Early Morning”, and the anthemic “Pawnshop”, all the way to the post-punk thump of “All These Things” and the closing of “Mr. Everywhere”, a spacey ballad that evokes ELO, this album is a great follow-up from a band that is still maturing into some unknown but very intriguing entity.