Dayglow’s Sloan Struble has found himself in the midst of fame, yet none of it feels like reality.
Stream: “Close to You” – Dayglow
Imagine writing a song, putting it out into the world, and making it big. Well, Dayglow doesn’t have to imagine it; he’s living it. The 21-year-old singer born Sloan Struble, has had quite the surreal year, pandemic aside. How’d he do it? He did it the same way most things get done in the modern age: A great deal of talent, with a little help from the internet. “The internet is crazy,” he begins. “It’s really strange to have all these viral moments pile up on each other, but it’s really encouraging.”
Struble’s been making music since he was 10, but the Dayglow project began in 2017, naming the band after a song he liked. “The song was spelled ‘Day Glo’ and it’s by an artist named Brazos. And I just really loved the song at the time of making the project and I didn’t want to overthink the name, so I just went with Dayglow,” says Struble.
By 2018, Struble released his debut album Fuzzybrain for his 10,000 Spotify listeners and the world to hear. The ten-track album was the perfect debut, with each song catchier than the next, but little did he know there was one track that would change his life forever.
“Can I Call You Tonight?” took the world by storm in what Struble calls a “series of nine or 10 viral moments.”
Some of these viral moments including a subtle shoutout from everyone’s favorite relatable influencer Emma Chamberlain, and becoming a well-known sound on TikTok. In a year, the song went from 10 million streams to 100 million, and soon Struble would have over 5 million monthly listeners.
In a little over two years, everything was different, but somehow the same. “I don’t necessarily feel anxiously overwhelmed,” admits Struble. “It’s just really strange to watch it all happen, especially nowadays where I’m just sitting in the same room at my house and all these things are happening.”
However, numbers on a screen can only do so much. “There’s such a different feeling when you get 2,000 people in a room versus getting 50,000 likes on a picture. You know it’s a big number, but it’s weird because everything is digital,” he says. “It’s really strange to know that there’s growth happening, but it just doesn’t translate in front of my eyes.”
Right before the pandemic hit, the band was gearing up for two sold-out tours, but after only one show, the rest of the dates were postponed. “I was supposed to be touring all year this year,” Struble says. While he admits he hasn’t had much touring experience, he’s excited to play shows in the future but knows it’s going to be a different experience. “By the time I’m touring again because there’s been all this growth, they’re going to be much bigger shows,” he says. “I don’t know what it’s going to look like. I’m just gonna jump in with a big splash, on these big stages and see what happens.”
Even though things are different, Struble’s doing what he can to make the best of it. In his time away from touring, Struble and the band recently appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was Dayglow’s late night television debut. “It was so awesome. It hasn’t fully soaked in the idea that it was on live television, but it was really crazy.”
Along with that, Dayglow released “Close to You,” his first new release in roughly two years. “There’s something quite refreshing and grounded about Struble’s take here, focusing on the almost,” Atwood Magazine‘s Jason Brillon said of the track. “Struble normalizes the almost, carving out a ‘danceable yet melancholy’ anthem for anyone dwelling on that hello they didn’t say, that thing they didn’t do, that shot they didn’t take.”
“It’s really exciting, very, rewarding,” says Struble of the release. But “Close to You” is only the beginning. Struble shares that he’s been working on a new record. “The full album will probably be out early summer,” he notes. “I think I’m gonna do a couple singles before, but it’s gonna be a fun year.”
Dayglow’s sophomore album Harmony House is set to release on May 21st via Very Nice Records / AWAL.
Alongside his album announcement, Dayglow shared Harmony House‘s second single “Something” alongside a tantalizing music video directed and animated by Computer Team’s Drew Tyndell (Beck, Paramore, The Chemical Brothers). A buoyant burst of fun, invigorating energies mixing inner turbulence with outer release, “Something” is a bright and refreshing tease off what promises to be a compelling full-length second collection.
I saw you lookin’ for the side door
You didn’t wanna stick around for
The rest of the night
I guess that’s alright
They all left when you walked home
It makes sense that they all know
It was only for you
If only you knew
What good is love
Without any strings?
Held it above
Stuck in between
Tell me for once
What that even means
I wanna know you
But can’t make it right
With a few crazy years under his belt, Sloan Struble’s got another crazy year ahead of him.
In the final moments of our chat, he had a message for his fans along with his 10-year-old self.
“To all my fans, thank you so much for listening to my music and I cannot wait to hang out with each one of you as soon as we can,” he says. And to 10-year-old Struble, “Keep having fun: Middle school is going to be weird, and listen to less dubstep – it’s not going to be a phase you see as beneficial.”
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Stream: “Something” – Dayglow
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