almost monday perfectly harnesses the retro rock vibe, emulating sounds similar to those of The Beach Boys. Originating in San Diego, California, almost monday is made up of Dawson Daugherty, Cole Clisby, and Luke Fabry. 

Daugherty and Fabry have been good friends since childhood, and Daugherty later met Clisby while surfing a break. After meeting, the three soon formed a band with Daugherty on vocals, Clisby on the guitar, and Fabry playing the bass. Though the band hasn’t reached mainstream success yet, they have come a long way from their first gig, in which they performed in a surf shop in Encinitas. Most recently, almost monday opened for fellow pop alternate pop trio AJR on their cross country tour.

This pop trio first emerged onto the music scene in April 2019 with their single “Broken People”. Their first album, “DIVE” , is still a work in progress (it drops Sept. 25), but in the meantime they have released multiple singles. In addition, they have also created two EPS, “don’t say you’re ordinary” and “til the end of time”, one dropping in 2020 and the other in 2021.

“don’t say you’re ordinary” and “til the end of time” harness a 1990’s grunge pop vibe, emulating faint echoes of Avril Lavigne. They explore a more wistful view of childhood and a hesitant view towards growing up. The music videos and album covers are more skewed towards the greyscale, reflecting the vibe of these two EPs. The songs feature chill synth backtracks, along with somewhat fuzzy chords that sound almost like radio static. In addition, the vocals are more breathy than their later songs, adding a little bit of a lofi element to their songs.

The released singles from “DIVE” definitely lean more towards a more Beach Boys-type vibe. These songs combine rock guitar riffs, underlying tropical-sounding instrumentals, and somewhat-scratchy vocals to really achieve that retro-Califonia rock. The music videos look as if they were filmed on an old camera, and embrace the playfulness of youth and the beach town culture. The album covers feature bright colors and funky illustrations, and these later works make a perfect playlist for a day at the beach.

My Top Ten:

1. can’t slow down (DIVE)
2. is it too late? (DIVE)
3. sunburn (DIVE)
4. live forever (til the end of time)
5. she likes sports (DIVE)
6. parking lot view (don’t say you’re ordinary)
7. only wanna dance
8. coast to coast
9. life goes by (DIVE)
10. the sun keeps on shining

For fans of The Beach Boys, Dominic Fike, Landon Conrath, and COIN.