Daisy the Great Faces a Challenger Like No Other in the Spectacle

For Brooklyn-based indie pop band Daisy the Great (DTG), fame is nothing new. Led by singer-songwriter duo Kelley Nicole Dugan and Mina Walker, the band skyrocketed in followers when their 2017 debut single, “The Record Player Song,” went viral on TikTok in early 2021—so viral, in fact, that it led to thousands lip-syncing to the incredibly catchy, fast-paced chorus. This meteoric rise led to the band’s collaboration with fellow indie pop band AJR, who released a remixed version featuring the duo titled “Record Player,” which also trended on TikTok and was performed live on tour with both bands. DTG has since released their sophomore album, but it’s in their newest EP, Spectacle: Daisy the Great vs. Tony Visconti (2024). Produced by Visconti himself, the Grammy-winning producer known for his decades-long collaboration with David Bowie, the band tightly weaves together five well-produced songs with ruminations on fame and the goofy irreverence that made the band so popular during quarantine.

The EP’s name brings to mind French philosopher and filmmaker Guy Debord’s concept of “the spectacle,” capitalism’s conquest through mass media and the way it serves to alienate viewers from each other. Another facet of Debord’s spectacle is the role of “the celebrity,” as they are subsumed into the media themselves, becoming more of an embodiment of the media than a human being. The spectacle is the titular boogeyman of the production, haunting all five tracks. There is no other song, of course, than the penultimate track, “Spectacle,” that embodies this facet—the duo croons lyrics such as “Have I become a replica?” and “The heart hides from the spectacle,” making it clear how musings on the band’s brush with fame still plague them, causing them to question if they have remained intact from their interaction with the spectacle. Following lyrics such as “Take a bite of me / Eat it all / Do I taste so sweet?” hammer home the recurring fear that the band has already been consumed by the profit-driven monster that is the spectacle itself.

The accomplished Visconti plays fast and loose with a variety of instrumental tracks that only serve to strengthen the songs. One standout moment is his recorder solo after the chorus of “Butterfly, Stay Dry,” the third song on the EP. The song itself is ethereal, with the duo’s harmonized falsettos ringing out as a balm, but it’s the recorder that really seals the deal, adding a touch of whimsy while also manifesting as a revelation when played right after Dugan and Walker’s beautiful harmonies.

It’s these harmonies that steal the show, but when the pattern is broken early on in the second track, “Pretty Painting,” it’s a stylistic choice that absolutely works. Overlapping lines mix together in a medley of vocals that make the song an immediate standout, culminating in a haunting distorted shout of an aborted lyric, “I wanted to go [somewhere].” Alongside the spectacle, a new theme emerges: DTG’s fears of staying stuck in the same place. Both of these themes reach their climax in the final track, “Fireman!,” a silly, if not heartfelt, expression of the fears underlying the EP. The chorus is repeated for the rest of the song: “I’m an echo of a teenage look at me / Desperate entertainer,” a heartbreaking confession that ends the EP. 

With its fantastic production and composition, DTG’s inherent tongue-in-cheek and sincere approach to its music is what makes the EP shine through. The music video for the first track, “All The People,” features the lead duo traveling through the city while play-fighting each other and inviting random New Yorkers to come playfully jab at the camera as well. The constant juxtaposition of heartfelt lyrics and self-awareness of the ridiculousness of some of their lyrics create a music video and EP that play with the concept of the spectacle. Daisy the Great offers themselves to us as entertainment and, in turn, offers us part in the spectacle.