Song Review:: DAY6: The DECADE- INSIDE OUT

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  • Release date: 2025 September 05

  • Album tracklist: Dream Bus; INSIDE OUT; Sun, Stay Asleep; Disco Day; My Way; Before the Stars; Take All My Heart; Dream Rider; So It's the End; Our Season

  • Album runtime: 32 minutes

 Happy 10th anniversary! That was actually this weekend, so it's a little belated, but I'm happy to be getting to this review. Also, while I'm not well-versed in their discography, their last few albums I have listened to in full, and they've been solid. So that's where I'm at. Can we just acknowledge how many really good groups, that are still active, have had tenth anniversaries this year? We've also had some anniversary comebacks that have required the groups to get back together for them, which makes me both happy and sad, so I'm glad that DAY6 was not one of those groups, that they didn't have to get back together for their anniversary. Also, I think it's really cute that the album is called "The DECADE" and that it has ten songs on it, cute and very satisfying. Album runtime is excellent, and the title track is technically over three minutes, so I'm good on that front.

The song starts off quieter with what sounds like a tambourine and a much heavier drum to go with an occasional bass guitar, which gives it a little bit of an understated poignancy. The good news is that it doesn't linger too long before popping into a much jauntier sound. This isn't a hard song, though it does have moments where it gets a little loud, but it's also never really in your face about it. But the thing I like about this is that while it has the big burst of energy, there are also spots where it plays quite nicely, but softly. That variation, even though it's brief, makes the song feel so much more nuanced. It's nice. I like this one.

Whoever has that rasp during the chorus, I love him. The tone and texture with his voice is so pleasing and it hits my brain so well. I also love the use of staccato notes, both in the instrumental and the vocals, during the "In.Side.Out" and "Up.Side.Down" parts. I've always enjoyed staccato because when they're used well, they give so much to a song and so much potential for the singer to work with. In this case, it's all playful, and I love that.

Using crash test dummies as a metaphor for a love life is genius, and I love it. Faceless, designed to be hurt over and over again, separate from the normal human experience. It makes it even more interesting that the crash test dummies are also kind of going through a facsimile of an important, normal, human event: the wedding. Food for the mind.



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