DAISY THE GREAT

Daisy the Great’s fourth EP, Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti, is a masterclass in sonic storytelling — a dazzling exploration of the indie innovation that has defined the duo since the release of their hit “The Record Player Song” and its certified-gold follow-up, “Record Player” with AJR. The five new tracks were co-created with Grammy-winning producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex), and capture the New York City duo honing in on their unique brand of genre-defying music where interlocking double lead vocals and striking harmonies give their sound an artful and kaleidoscopic twist.

Emerging from the depths of Brooklyn’s indie music scene, Daisy the Great is the utterly infectious project of Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker. The duo first met as acting majors at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts where they began co-writing a musical about a fictional band before realizing they could make it happen in real life and set out as Daisy the Great. Inspired by artists like Fiona Apple and Bowie, Daisy the Great’s imaginative and clever songwriting meets whimsy and an unmistakable rawness to bring their music to life. Following the immediate success of “The Record Player Song,” the band released their debut full-length I’m Not Getting Any Taller in 2019, followed by 2020’s quarantine-born Soft Songs EP, and their 2022 masterful sophomore album, All You Need Is Time, which has garnered 500M streams to date. The last couple of years have seen the band reach new heights - collaborating with artists like illuminati hotties, Claud, and AJR, playing major festivals like Lollapalooza and Firefly, and joining The Kooks and The Vaccines on their recent North American headline tour.

Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti was written in the stars. While on their recent European headlining tour, the band met Tony at the Reeperbahn Awards Show, where Daisy the Great was an Anchor Award nominee, and an immediate creative spark became apparent. With one of the band’s biggest influences being David Bowie, and Visconti inspired by what the band was already doing, what followed was a legendary collaboration. Resulting in five fantastic songs written over a year, the EP became an exhilarating fusion of sounds that stretch the boundaries of genre and expectation. “Tony Visconti is the kind of legendary producer you never think you’ll get to meet, let alone work with,” share Kelley and Mina. “He’s produced so many of our favorite records by our favorite artists. Anytime people ask us who our greatest influences are, David Bowie is usually our first answer. He and Tony created so many iconic works full of personality, liveliness, and grit. He is able to make things sound truly alive and full without sounding muddy. Collaborating together was a huge bucket-list moment.”

The band’s vocal interplay is an ever-evolving blend of genres where vulnerable and undeniably intimate subjects pair beautifully with earworm melodies. On the EP’s lead single “All The People,” funky synths swirl and melancholic harmonies usher you in as the band muse about time’s infiniteness. “It's about wondering how you would live if you could forget about the constancy of time passing,” they explain. Calling back to ‘70s glam pop and rock, there’s a striking balance of nostalgia and newness on the track.

Punchy drums welcome you on “Butterfly, Stay Dry,” a track inspired by the impermanence of the things you wish you could feel most certain about. Self-described as “our freaky harmony-soaked song” the song’s rich soundscapes and surprising instrumentation serve as an exhilarating palate cleanser. The band’s limitlessness is on full display on the new EP, where genre lines know no bounds and the band’s creative fearlessness is inspiring.

Indeed, Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti is the most expansive release from Daisy the Great yet. From the dissonant, harmony-rich “Fireman!” to the romantic “Pretty Painting” and the slow-burning, powerful talk-singing on “Spectacle,” the EP captures the band reaching new heights. The members of Daisy the Great continue to be great proponents of eclectic experimentation in the indie space, and their newest body of work cements them as artists to watch.