Dayseeker - Sleeptalk (LP) - Red Marbled Vinyl

Sleeptalk arrived in late September 2019 and felt like a clean break for Dayseeker. The Orange County four-piece had flirted with melody before, but here they leaned into neon-lit synths, glossy textures, and Rory Rodriguez’s soaring, soulful voice without losing the grit that put them on heavy bills. Spinefarm backed a record that took risks, and the band doubled down with a tight, cohesive set of songs that made their earlier post-hardcore edges feel newly focused. Produced with Daniel Braunstein, the album has that sleek, midnight-drive sheen, yet the guitars still bite and the drums hit like a real kit in a real room.

The title track is the gateway. “Sleeptalk” opens with a low-lit pulse, the kind of synth line that belongs on a rainy freeway, then blooms into one of Rodriguez’s most expressive vocal performances. He treats the chorus like a confession, pushing into a grainy high register that breaks a little at the edges. Live, it is a true rallying point, often anchoring their set with a sea of voices carrying the last refrain. It also unlocked a broader audience. Fans who came for breakdowns stayed for the mood and melody, and the band seemed to know they had something special.

When the album hits harder, it does so with purpose. “Crooked Soul” rides a stomping groove and a lyric that looks straight at personal demons. The screams arrive not as a checkbox, but as punctuation, a flare when the emotion crests. “Burial Plot” swings even darker, all low-tuned rumble and tension that breaks into a hook you can actually remember. Those two tracks show how the band threads heaviness into a synth-laced framework without smothering it. Mike Karle’s snare cracks clean, bass from Ramone Valerio underlines the melodies, and Gino Sgambelluri’s guitar lines chase the vocal rather than crowd it. You can tell the arrangement choices were sweated over, and it pays off.

Then there is “Drunk,” a slow burn that deals in apology and avoidance, set to keys that feel like they are rising out of fog. Rodriguez has talked in interviews about the pull between escape and accountability, and that tension runs through much of Sleeptalk. Even when the production shines, you can hear the ache. It is the kind of modern heavy record that understands quiet is powerful, and that a chorus lands harder when the verses leave space.

Rock press took notice at the time. The record’s pivot toward alt-pop colors without ditching weight was widely remarked on, and you could feel the momentum build as the title track became a streaming favorite and a live staple. The band stretched the era with a deluxe edition in 2021 that added stripped-back versions and a new song, “Starving to Be Empty,” featuring Garrett Russell of Silent Planet. Hearing those acoustic reworks made the writing even clearer. If a song still stings when you take away the volume, you have something worth keeping.

Part of what makes Sleeptalk endure is how it bridges worlds. Fans who line their shelves with post-hardcore classics can drop the needle and still get that catharsis. Fans who love glossy pop melody will find big, singable choruses that feel lived-in rather than lab-made. If you are hunting for Dayseeker vinyl, this is the one that changed the conversation, and the Sleeptalk vinyl pressing does right by the low end and those airy pads. It is an album that rewards a front-to-back spin, the sequencing easing you from nocturnal shimmer to gut-punch and back again.

If you are flipping through crates in a Melbourne record store, keep an eye out for that cover glinting like a streetlight at 2 a.m., or just buy Dayseeker records online if the local bins are thin. Dayseeker albums on vinyl tend to move quickly, and this one feels built for the format, with dynamics you can feel in the room. However you come to it, Sleeptalk captures a band stepping into their own lane and driving it like they have been here for years. It still sounds fresh, it still stings, and it still hits that rare balance between intimacy and scale that so many heavy-adjacent records chase. For a late-night listen that gives you both the chill and the charge, this is a keeper. And for anyone keeping a wishlist of vinyl records Australia or beyond, it belongs near the top.