Album Review: Allday - Starry Night Over The Phone

Starry Night Over The Phone, the third studio album from the Adelaide-born, LA-based rapper Allday, aka Tomas Gaynor, is a tender, star-studded offering, one that shows a maturity of soul and sound without washing out his signature hybrid of hip hop and pop.

Gaynor’s choice in collaborators brings a certain depth to his music. Lonelyspeck adds a melancholic but gorgeous power to the already tender See You When I See You, while opener Restless, the very hyped-up collaboration with The Veronicas, delivers some surprisingly beautiful harmonies.

Ultimately though, Gaynor does very little to shine on his own. There’s a sleek and steady simplicity to be appreciated here, but it gets repetitive. He’s a bloke with a set of synthesised sounds that click with acoustic instruments for wonderful effect – Atmosphere introduces the docile tones of a piano to shake up an otherwise standard sound. The smooth delivery of Protection masks the intensity of the angst Gaynor shares, the gentle backing of an acoustic guitar adding an indie-rock vibe to change the groove of his rap stylings.

This record does what it says on the tin – Starry Night Over The Phone puts down some bittersweet sentiments with a maturity we’ve not seen from Gaynor, but without the talents of musicians borrowed from other genres, this would be a pretty bland album.