All Day, Everyday - A Side of Broken Bones

All Day, Everyday

A Side of Broken Bones
self-released;2015

3.0 out of 5

By Matt Jensen

All Day, Everyday is the solo project for Dagur (Day) Gudmundsson. The young student is a work in progress who laid down his songs in his dorm room and then decided to release them on an album entitled A Side of Broken Bones. There’s no use in sugar coating the recording quality, which adversely affects the songs - it’s not very good any way you look at it. I’m sure Gudmundsson realizes that and sometimes you have to just deal with what you have.

Gudmundsson credits a surplus of indie gods like Built to Spill, Modest Mouse and Pavement while also crediting British bands like Blur, Oasis and Radiohead as a source of inspiration. Musically, Gudmundsson has some talent but his songs are often too self-indulgent. He exaggerates his voice and is lyrically limited to his own perspective. Gudmundsson sings about his own universe and all the heightened emotions that go along with someone who is in their early twenties or younger.

From this album Gudmundsson seems like a pretty normal young person trying to get a handle on his own emotions and the world around it. I’m am willing to bet that as Gudmundsson gets older and continues to write music the self-indulgent qualities will diminish and more universal themes will be apparent in his music.

A Side of Broken Bones has some mild success as well as other songs that don’t hit the mark. The opener “Graduation (The Walk of Fame)” contains some decent vocal work and shows potential for Gudmundsson as a singer. He sings, “But I hate who I've become / And my change is on the run.”

“Road Weary” contains sophomoric lyrics that are dismal. He sings, “So tired of walking this road / I feel so fucking old / It seems to go on and on and on and on / Forever in doubt." Gudmundsson has a winning formula with “Life Has Shadows.” His vocal delivery is the best on the album and he finds some good supporting melodies to back him up.

At this point Gudmundsson is playing the whole tortured artist angle a bit too hard. I’ll give him a break since I don’t think he is even in his twenties yet. It gets better and things start to make a little more sense as you get older. Gudmundsson doesn’t realize that yet but I have a feeling he will at some point and it will reflect in his music.

Become A Fan

Tweet