Drowned In a Sea of Sound

by Stewart MasonUpstate New York indie rockers the Daysleepers aren't kidding with that album title: not since the shoegazer heyday has a band been so intent on immersing the listener in veritable oceans of reverb, echo, and effects pedals. Apparently raised on a steady diet of My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive albums, the Daysleepers have that turn of the '90s sound down cold, but like many of the bands who found themselves on the shoegazer bandwagon, their debut full-length reveals a fatal flaw. Once the listener mentally strips away all the things that makes these ten songs sound really, really cool, the songs themselves are revealed to be pretty weak, neither melodically nor lyrically memorable beyond the pretty but shallow surfaces. On the other hand, shoegaze bands tended to be about little more than the surfaces (there's a reason why the vocals were usually set way back in the mix, or why Liz