DJ Day

In the opening moments of DJ Day's vibrant and contemplative sophomore set, Land of 1000 Chances, the Palm Springs native offers up his explanation of the music to follow, describing it as the sound of his desert environs — a laidback, heavy mix of joy and melancholy. Each of these elements reveal themselves in various forms throughout the disc's many layered moods, from the sleepy bass and keys tandem of cuts like "Daddy's Home" and "Adu" to the more spritely jazz guitar and pressing tempo of the album's title track. Propelled by the steady chug of crisp percussive rhythms, featured prominently throughout long stretches of the record, DJ Day's productions rarely maintain one emotive groove for very long and, at times, switch up mid-track, as on the '60s jazz-, pop-rooted "Mama's Shelter." But despite an ever-shifting blend of vivid sounds, with well-executed touches of live instrumentation and interesting vocal additions, the combined music does have a tendency of slipping into the background as your mind drifts and you forget you're listening. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, depending on your perspective.