All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great

Many bands will be new to the Bacon Review when they show up in the 2022 Top 31, but the honor of being the first new band on this year’s list goes to Brooklyn-based Daisy the Great. The six-member band is led by dual lead singers Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker, and my brain categorizes them thusly: smart, hook-driven pop; First Aid Kit without the twang.

All You Need Is Time is the band’s 2nd album, and it’s a happy, upbeat pivot from a lot of the other “serious” music you hear (and love!) coming out of our pandemic malaise the past few years. Daisy the Great’s debut, I’m Not Getting Any Taller, came out in early 2019 but completely missed my radar. The band rose to internet fame in 2021 when their very first released song, 2017’s “The Record Player Song¹” became the object of a viral “one breath challenge” on TikTok. Users created 20,000+ videos featuring the song’s chorus, which generated over 270 million aggregate views on the app.

I believe that makes Daisy the Great the first TikTok-famous band to hit this blog, but TikTok is not how I found them. My friend Ryan Spain² introduced them to me, by way of a musical puzzle. He shared that he had been playing the opening track (shown in the video above) obsessively for a few weeks, and had surprisingly unlocked a massive easter egg in the song. As a fan of puzzles, and of the art of making music that has a literal deeper meaning that can be discovered upon multiple listens, I’m not going to ruin the surprise for you (but ask directly and I’ll happily reveal). I will not be surprised if you happen to fall in love with the song upon repeated listening, or because of the discovery itself, or both.

The band has been prolific when it comes to the visual side of music. In addition to the “Time Machine” video above, there are seven additional videos for six other album tracks:

“Record Player” with an additional animated version, performed with pop trio AJR
“Glitter”
“Cry in the Mirror”
“Easy”
“Aluminum”
“Liar”

Check them all out, as they’re clearly gifted in song craft as well as creating candy for the eyes. And then go listen to the rest of the album, it’s worth it.

^{1. Not to be confused with another non-album single called “Record Player,” the reimagined version of the TikTok hit that appears on the Deluxe Edition of All You Need Is Time and features the same choral hook as the original.↩}
^{2. Ryan’s been mentioned numerous times on the Bacon Review over the years. He and I met across a friendly poker table nearly 20 years ago, and it was his advent-themed Top 24 music list that he compiled annually in the 00’s that was the catalyst for what become the Bacon Top 31. Ryan continues to help with the production of this Top 31 — the Spotify and (new this year!) YouTube Music playlists exist because of him. If you like that those playlists exist, or really even that the Bacon Top 31 exists, you can thank Ryan directly on Discord at username GoingOptimal#3697. ↩}

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30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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