Day Wave Is “Starting Again” on His First New Single Since 2018

Day Wave, the West Coast dream-pop project of Jackson Phillips, has shared new single “Starting Again” via [PIAS] Recordings. It’s only the second track Phillips has shared since the release of his debut album as Day Wave, 2017’s The Days We Had, and his first new song since 2018’s “Still Let You Down.”

“Starting Again” finds Phillips asserting his independence over effects-heavy guitar arpeggios and synth accents, insisting, “I won’t be caught in the moment, I’m starting again / I will take care of myself, I’m not done yet.” There’s a bittersweet edge to Phillips’ resilience—he’s pushing forward, but there’s a sense of loss, like he’s leaving something meaningful behind in the bargain. “I can go on alone / I can do it alone now,” he sings in the pre-choruses, keeping his head high despite having much on his mind.

“I wrote ‘Starting Again’ in a time when I needed to get out of a creative and emotional rut,” Phillips recalls. “It’s about ridding yourself of people who convince you that you’re not good enough. Sometimes that person can be yourself, and it can be a struggle to start over with a new outlook. But I still try.”

It’s good to have new Day Wave in our ears—we highlighted Phillips’ project as The Best of What’s Next in 2016 and ranked Day Wave among the best new acts of that year on the strength of his Hard to Read EP. Here’s hoping there’s more where “Starting Again” came from, as its title would certainly seem to suggest.

Phillips has a pair of shows on the horizon, performing at Elsewhere in New York City on May 4 and The Echo in Los Angeles May 11. One imagines we’ll be hearing more from him before then.

Watch the lyric video for “Starting Again” (created by Jack Moser) and listen to Day Wave’s 2016 Daytrotter Session below. You’ll find his tour dates further down.

Day Wave Tour Dates:

May
04 – New York, N.Y. @ Elsewhere
11 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Echo