‘First Light’, the second single released by northwest London’s DAAY, is a sophisticated dreampop gem that assures us everything will turn out fine, writes Nick Mee

If lockdown were to spawn a musical genre it would surely be characterised by a restless anxiety, repetition and a yearning for escape, expressed, of course, by solo artists in isolation. It would likely sound akin to ‘Contrastes’, an EP by Dropout Marsh, who recorded four tracks at home in the South of France while locked down last November, drawing on, he says, “the mixed feelings and emotions we’ve all had this past year... from being shut in the dark to a desire for light, freedom, fresh air and clear water to swim in.”