Review: Daxma ‘There Will Come Tomorrow’

Daxma‘s Ruins Upon Ruins was released in 2019 as part of the first PostWax series on Blues Funeral. That was an incredible undertaking that so many great albums were released. While Daxma caught my attention, I didn’t really listen to that album much. It wasn’t until 2021 when they released Unmarked Boxes that their music truly resonated with me.

Now Daxma have released There Will Come Tomorrow. At first glance, I didn’t appreciate the album art as I was a bigger fan of the vector style of previous releases, but as I listened to the music, I kept revisiting the cover because it’s the perfect visual to the tales told within. The moldy and worn building is minimized by the bright light ahead illuminating the beautiful golden arches, forcing the viewer to focus on the good.

Cinematic music is Daxma‘s strong suit and the four songs are delivered on all fronts. A dimly lit dawn opens with Fallen as the solemn music sets the tone. A slow drawn-out violin fills the space and the repetitive rhythm of guitar sinks in deep. The feeling of hopelessness is there but as the layers multiply, a brighter outcome begins to take form. At 3:46, the music punches through and the force is felt with an overwhelming positive sense.

The wordless story is told in four chapters and the signature post-rock rise and fall is present in each song. Daxma have the incredible talents of Jessica T. on violin to expand the sonic landscape Isaac R., Thomas I. and Forrest H. bring to the table with more traditional rock instruments.

The feeling of hopelessness is there but as the layers multiply, a brighter outcome begins to take form…

It’s difficult to describe the music other than building crescendos and swells of instruments that come to a crashing halt. Which in itself is grand, but it’s the little nuances Daxma brings as they take the post-rock genre and breathe new life into it. Like the feeling of empowerment on Fallen as mentioned above, or the increase in tempo on Wings Of Andromeda that makes your heart race a little faster with excitement and hope.

Or the simple fact that each of the four songs builds onto themselves progressively getting brighter and more uplifting to a grand climax on closer Tower of Silence. The final track also breaks the instrumental silence with distant vocal harmonies tucked behind the swelling guitars, which is yet another example of the small details this incredible band puts into their art.

Although There Will Come Tomorrow is only a thirty-one-minute run time, it tells a complete story that knows where to end. In a genre where music leans to the dark themes, Daxma focuses on escaping those endtimes with positive minds and a theme to take care of yourselves and each other. The bright cover, the golden building and the album title fit together with the music, like the final pieces of a puzzle.

Label: Independent
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram

Scribed by: Josh Schneider