Day Aches

Day Aches return with withforwardmotion, their second full-length and first LP for Other People Records, due November 4. The 10-song record follows their 2023 debut One Last Dream Before Dying and finds the Virginia/DC band building on its grunge-fueled shoegaze foundation with elements of hardcore and nü metal. Fans of Superheaven, Soul Blind, Narrow Head, Trauma Ray and Split Chain should find plenty of familiar territory in the band’s mix of thick distorted guitars, melodic haze and heavier grooves.

The album centers on themes of identity, personal uncertainty, the passage of time and the search for meaning amid a decaying world. According to what we have learned about the album so far, withforwardmotion pairs dense, fuzz-soaked reverb with hard-hitting breakdowns while pushing Day Aches toward a heavier, sharper and more focused version of their sound.

The album’s two early singles offer the first glimpse. “In Water” is described by the band as a self-reflective song about reclaiming self-worth following heartbreak and abuse, eventually giving way to one of the record’s heavier breakdowns. “outerheaven” pulls from the early 2000s, layering a nu metal sheen over Day Aches’ established grungegaze foundation.

Other standout tracks are said to include “Rei III,” “Exit Wounds,” “Re-Take After” and the title track, “withforwardmotion,” of which the latter three are said to explore a dreamier but still energetic side of the record, built around reverb-heavy shoegaze.

Based on the early singles, withforwardmotion looks to expand on the contrasts that have defined Day Aches from the start: hazy melody against physical heaviness, introspection against release, and ’90s and early-2000s influences pushed through the band’s own modern grungegaze sound. We’ll have more to say about the album in the coming months as it gets closer to release.