Among some of the relevant quotes I have been reading regarding Dark On A Sunny Day, the debut album from Nashville-born and based singer-songwriter Maisy Owen, is a brief appraisal from the record producer and musical renaissance man Joe Boyd. He says that Maisy has an “original voice with no modernist cliches in her singing or songwriting.” Now, generally that kind of statement would have no effect on me, but if I am writing about an album, I do not want to merely be recycling someone else’s reaction; I want to tell you how it has spoken to me. But Joe is someone who knows what he is talking about. I am currently working my way through an epic tome of his called ‘And The Roots Of Rhythm Remain’, and believe me, even without his rich heritage producing so many folk classics for Island Records over fifty years ago, the man is a musical authority. On this occasion, I include his quote in the opening of this review because I also believe he has absolutely called this one right. Maisy Owen is presenting us with a singer-songwriter album that, for a first attempt, shows remarkable maturity and, as Joe alludes to, a kind of timelessness in her style. This is an acoustic record decorated with nothing more than the requirements of each individual piece, and even when stripped down to the bare bones of voice and guitar, it still has enough detail to hold its spell.
She has come to our attention with a backstory that goes a long way toward explaining why her Dark On A Sunny Day sounds so assured. Growing up, Maisy’s first instrument was the viola, but the guitar soon became her main instrument, and as she progressed with it, fingerpicking over simple strumming pointed to a future that looked sound. This was just as well, because family life revolved around music and songwriting, and felt especially hard-wired into her DNA. Early influences were of the more delicate variety, although artists like Nick Drake, Bert Jansch and Mazzy Star have all filtered through in a way that honours their understated power as much as their introspection. While these are the tangible roots of the music heard on Dark On A Sunny Day, it’s not just having a good ear that has shaped Maisy. She has grown and found her identity in a town where you cannot throw a rock without hitting a good songwriter, so, to stand a chance, she needed to ensure she could compose without gimmicks or leaning too close to the derivative. This album is evidence of an aim successfully achieved.
So, the album has been produced by Robin Eaton and recorded with the specific intent of putting these songs front and centre, trusting them to stand on their own merits. It is hard to argue that this has not worked; from the moment we begin, it sounds like the work of a seasoned veteran, not a first-timer.
My Youth Is All For You sets the scene with picking that works as both an aural cloth and a rhythm marker; there is space for a nice fiddle accompaniment, but anything else would feel forced. The same can be said for Letters, although there are more flowing bass lines that sound sublime on this one. The title track is outstanding for many reasons. Not only does it have an impressive shift in momentum, but it also hints at likely future adventures in cosmic Americana.
Returning to the stripped-back simplicity, The Rest Of Me could be sold as a Vashti Bunyan outtake, and people would not question it. On My Way Down switches guitar methods, but if anything, strumming this song lends it a satisfying, soulful inclination; then I Can Be Just Like You introduces tastefully mellow keys alongside the picking.
“Why are you looking for a god you don’t believe in?” Maisy sings on God Fear, a spooked tune that clearly marks her card as not belonging wholly to the Nashville collective. Finally, It All Ends The Same closes in a darker place and yet pushes, without syrupy positivity, to find some comfort and rationale with a basic human truth. And here is one more simple fact: Maisy Owen sounds like a real deal songwriter with a fascinating journey ahead.
Dark On A Sunny Day (May 1st, 2026) Tompkins Sqaure
Bandcamp: https://tompkinssquare.bandcamp.com/album/dark-on-a-sunny-day