No other modern day band can emulate the late 1980s to early 1990s aesthetic quite like Gunship, and ‘Dark All Day’ is easily their best work to date. It sounds like an epic movie montage soundtrack, somewhere between Stranger Things, Lost Boys, The X Files and True Romance. The opening is uncannily like X Files’ eerie theme tune, although the listener doesn’t stay in alien territory for long as a romantic saxophone solo sweeps in on a wave of howling winds and police car sirens. The collection of these sonic images drops us into an inner-city in the height of crime wave, the danger personified by the deathly rock guitars and thundering percussion. Escape from this dark reality is possible though, as the chorus further transports listeners into a neon-lit night club thanks to the fist-pumping synths and hedonistic vocals of Indiana, who beckons “I will see you on the other side... c’mon lost boys let’s stay alive.” In stark contrast, we’re returned to the gritty voice of Tim Cappello, which rides the brutal bass and rock synths. Each transition shows opposite sides to the story - escapism and rationalism - truly the zeitgeist of the tough times that people lived through in the ‘80s and ‘90s. What Gunship continue to uphold is a segment of the unique musical culture that arose out of those dark days. - Hannah Thacker