Don’t mind us if we fall in love with DRAFTDAY (again). There’s something special about this band that seems to be a galaxy far away from their present standing as a new band; one with less than 350 monthly listeners on Spotify. They prove their stuff (yet again) with their latest single “Mess I’ve Made”.
Fresh and with a retro-esque 80s rock groove from the outset, I’m instantly ‘in’. “Mess I’ve Made” is fucking cool, and strikes with its aloof drumming, and meandering bass. An echoing quality to the vocals gives the impression of not being heard – and trying to be – as if they’ve lost who they are.
After a sweet tumbling and climbing build-up, “Mess I’ve Made”‘s chorus lands as an addictive back-and-forth moment. The interplay of the two voices instantly makes me want to sing along, even from first listen. The clearly audible bass is a treat for my ears, but DRAFTDAY shine from all facets in this polished track, which still comes across as authentic in its message.
“Wish I was better then, wish I was better when“
“Mess I’ve Made” started great, and continues to get even greater, as though every tone and note was custom made for my personal enjoyment. The track goes down so smoothly. With focus pulled to the gang vocal quality of the bridge (“There’s no answer in a steady hand”), it feels like a defiant turning point. Reading “Ne me quitte pas” (French for “Don’t leave me”) on the wall reinforces the same message of wanting to make up for the past mistakes, and hoping the mistakes didn’t cause permanent damage.
Typically going over emotion and lyrics with a fine-tooth comb, “Mess I’ve Made” had me so enamoured with how the track sounds that I hadn’t paid clear attention to the subject matter. With more relistens, at the start it seemed like the protagonist had lost themselves to someone else, but as the song goes on, their unhappiness surfaces as the cause. They regret being how they were, and how their behaviour/state of mind impacted upon someone they loved. There’s a shame in that; a shame in how they were, and have a desire to want to protect the other.
Of all the greatness of the song, the music video by Tully Hemsley adds to it, with a final moment hitting like an unexpected (and relieving) twist in a movie. What more can I say about “Mess I’ve Made”? Well worth a listen, check it out via YouTube below.
