A lot has changed in Grace Potter’s life in the four years since her last album, Midnight, including divorcing drummer Matt Burr, marrying producer Eric Valentine, and giving birth to her first child. Not surprisingly, Potter’s music has also changed, venturing even farther away from her 13-year career with the Nocturnals. Her first album since then, Daylight, is Potter’s most uplifting and introspective release to date.
Daylight is a soft and heartfelt collection of power pop done right, full of catchy radio-ready hooks with few missteps. There are only a few glimpses of Potter the rocker here, with Potter the pop star and soulful crooner taking center stage. Album opener “Love Is Love” sets the tone, portraying Potter as both remorseful over the deterioration of a relationship and hopeful about the establishment of a new one. “Well, I promised him I would never stray, but I’m thinking about you every day, now I’m standing here outside your door,” she sings, her husky voice carrying the weight of her complex emotional confession.
“Love Is Love” also sets the album’s tone sonically, as a slow, soulful number that explodes into dynamic pop in the chorus. It’s a great song but also emblematic of the album’s weaknesses. Daylight’s biggest flaw is that it is overproduced. It has a pervasive sheen that doesn’t fit some of the songs. Even the rock songs are mixed like pop, with the bass and drums overwhelming the guitars. And there is the formulaic production approach of making every chorus sound as epic and dramatic as possible.
Likewise upbeat rocker “On My Way” would be better with a grittier tone, but it is salvaged by infectious guitar work and Potter’s powerful voice. The song is empowering, about Potter accepting that she has made mistakes but refusing to dwell on them. “When I look in the mirror I can see all the fear and loathing on my face, but it’s too late, lady, too late to be afraid,” Potter sings over a propulsive beat and retro-rock riffing.
Daylight as a whole is big, streamlined power pop, but it’s not without some great subtle moments. Country ballad “Repossession” is a highlight, Potter singing over a soft, breezy twang, as is the blues-tinged arpeggiated crooner “Please.”
On most tracks, Potter’s vocals are subdued, fitting comfortably within the confines of the song without trying to show off. She does let loose, though, in “Desire,” a funky, gospel-influenced collaboration with Lucius. “Every time I look at you I lose control,” Potter sings, her booming voice soaring above the stomping music and the backing vocals from Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig.
The album-closing “Daylight” is not just the album’s best song, but one of the greatest songs Potter has recorded. On an album full of predictable pop, “Daylight” is an experimental tour de force, defying expectations through dynamic shifts in tempo and aggression as it careens through another vulnerable confession. Beginning with a cacophony of distortion, the song abruptly shifts into a slow soul number. “I’ve been lost and found and lost again so many times I can’t remember if I ever knew my way at all,” Potter sings softly over swirling keys. As the first verse ends, Potter lays down crunching guitar distortion that builds to a crescendo and then abruptly disappears, the epic chorus delayed for another soft verse. That second verse ends with an increasing tempo that builds to quick aggressive rock, Potter’s voice on the verge of a full scream, then slows again before diving into a fast rock chorus that is Potter’s best earwig since “Paris.”
The frustrating thing about the title track is that it shows just how great Potter’s music can be when she really cuts loose and takes risks. Though the rest of the album doesn’t meet the same standard as its closing track, Daylight is a solid pop album with no bad songs and a few brilliant moments.
