Dark Light Daybreak
by Now It's Overhead
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. Delusions of Adequacy
    90
    The brilliant new album Dark Light Daybreak sees Now It's Overhead mixing the smoldering and beautifully layered guitar sounds from 2001's self-titled debut with the haunting synth-pop beats from 2004's Fall Back Open and taking them a step further by including more intricate melodies, polished arrangements and even grander guitar-scapes.
  2. Urb
    80
    This album pays less attention to the club lights and feels more clubbed over the head emotionally. [Sep 2006, p.136]
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  3. Alternative Press
    80
    Though lifeless songs such as "Estranged" still remind you of LeMaster's yawn-inducing past, the rest of Dark Light Daybreak suggests he should've stretched out like this a long time ago. [Nov 2006, p.200]
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  5. AllMusic
    80
    While nothing on Dark Light Daybreak is mind-blowingly original, it's all very good, and each song only adds on to the effectiveness and beauty of the next, layering one upon another like the instruments themselves, and making a very solid, even great, album.
  6. Magnet
    70
    On Dark Light Daybreak... Now It's Overhead cuts back on its former haze to graze in cleaner pastures. [#73, p.103]
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  7. Pitchfork
    66
    For an album with such a diverse sound palette, it spends too much time in one mode-- sincere, mid-tempo grandeur-- to be more than another solid, perfectly listenable album.
  8. Stylus Magazine
    50
    It’s a natural inclination for LeMaster to experiment, but it makes the songs often difficult and unengaging, giving off the impression that they’re half-formed.
  9. Spin
    50
    Despite a slew of tasty melodies... [it] feels a bit choked and cautious. [Oct 2006, p.102]
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  10. Paste Magazine
    50
    If anything, the vocals provide the most effective dynamism in lifting these tracks out of their banality and providing sporadic moments of layered exaltation – short, shimmering flashes of greatness on an album that’s not especially compelling.
  11. PopMatters
    30
    Dark Light Daybreak reaches for territory that LeMaster simply is not ready for, and which is unsuited for the songwriting strength he possesses.

User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 2 more ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. BigTomCasual
    Dec 7, 2006
    8
    Yeah, I'm not sure what is up with the backlash against this album. I'm very picky about what I listen to, and yet there are Yeah, I'm not sure what is up with the backlash against this album. I'm very picky about what I listen to, and yet there are multiple tracks on this album that I can NOT get enough of. If you like catchy tunes that don't treat you like you're an idiot - check this out.… Full Review »
  2. ChristineR.
    Sep 29, 2006
    9
    Possibly not as enticing as 2004s Fall Back Open (would that be because we don't hear Maria Taylor & Orenda Fink as much as we used to?) Possibly not as enticing as 2004s Fall Back Open (would that be because we don't hear Maria Taylor & Orenda Fink as much as we used to?) but still GORGEOUS album full of hummable tunes (don't believe the reviews!) AND moody atmospheres... Not a step forward, but a great step sideways...… Full Review »