Adam Marsland deserves some credit. He's had a tough career. To have an album released only for the record company to go broke the following week must be soul crushing. Many would wallow in self pity then take up a nice job in real estate. Not Adam Marsland. "Daylight Kissing Light" proves that Marsland's time in purgatory was time well spent.
The man himself sees this compilation as a defining of himself and that's probably a fair abridgment of the songs on offer. "My Kickass Life" is nowhere near as pretentious as the title would have you believe. Marsland in the song claims to seek a life of "adventure not one of indenture". Now, that's clever lyrics!
Emotions drive Marsland's lyrics, and the music reflects said emotions, but Marsland doesn't make the mistake of running wild or going cold turkey with it. Instead, a healthy balance of emotion is found here. Call it honesty?
Marsland has a boyband-perfect voice, yet delivers as well on falsettoed pop songs ("The Big Bear") as on up-tempo punk-pop ("Married Yet"). Marsland's insightful lyrics and ideals for a decent pop song mean that this collection of songs are instantly recognisable as Marsland's, while varying from gentle pop to arty punk.
Essentially, this album is a release of things unsaid for a man who has decided to act on his achievements rather than dwell on them. Marsland has had his fair share of bad luck in years gone by which is unfortunate as the material on this CD far outstrips any US pop-punk released in recent years. Let's just hope Marsland doesn't run out of inspiration anytime soon.