Modern Daze is an alternative rock band from Tacoma, Washington, built around heavy guitar textures, melodic hooks, and the kind of emotional push-and-pull that sits comfortably between shoegaze, grunge, Midwest emo, and post-hardcore.
The group began as a three-piece with Zac White on guitars and vocals, Chris Defalco on bass, and Walker Janelle on drums, and has since expanded to a five-piece with guitarists Tyler Parsons and Curtis Sullivan. Their sound pulls from the hazy weight of DIIV, Whirr, and Nothing, the emo-driven guitar work and emotional immediacy of bands like Downward and Seer Believer, and the grungier heft of Soul Blind, while also sharing ground with Modern Color and Glimmer. Dreamy atmosphere, thick distortion, and wiry Midwest emo-style guitar lines all collide without losing the band's melodic center.
Modern Daze's debut full-length, Phantom Memory, arrives August 28, 2026. The eight-song album was recorded at home in Tacoma in Zac White's living room by White, Defalco, and Janelle, then mixed and mastered by Tyler Mays. With the lineup now expanded, the band plans to tour more regularly after the album's release and begin writing together as a five-piece.
Tacoma, Washington's Modern Daze have released their crushing debut full-length, Phantom Memory, today.
Across eight tracks, the relatively new band covers a lot of ground without losing the weight or melody at the center of their sound, moving from heavy, melodic grungegaze and dense shoegaze distortion to wiry, mathy emo guitar work and plenty in between. Think the hazy weight of DIIV, Whirr and Nothing, the emotional guitar-driven pull of Downward and Seer Believer, and the heavier edge of Soul Blind, with shades of Modern Color and Glimmer.
Phantom Memory is a must listen for fans of that whole corner of heavy and gazy, emo-tinged, melodic guitar music, and Modern Daze are a newer band well worth keeping an eye on. Check out the album below.
