A Day Without Love's "Mega Jawn" Is a Collaborative Showcase Beyond Sonic Versatility

A Day Without Love

Brian Walker, of A Day Without Love, is likely one of the most ambitious creators I’ve ever spoken with. Aside from curating his “Dreams Not Memes” podcast in which he interviews creatives from all over the world and releases an episode daily, sessions with musicians both local and beyond, writes content for local music publications, and is even in the process of releasing a documentary, Walker just released a massive collaborative album that he titled Mega Jawn. The fifteen-track collection consists of everything from acoustic medleys to grunge rock to rap to country to experimental rock to brass band sounds to stripped-back beats. This album literally has everything. It not only showcases Walker’s versatility as a writer, but his ability to chameleon his way through genres and incorporate artists within his songs that can easily do the same. The impressive list of collaborators features:

Alexandra Kay March (Philadelphia), Samryebread (Philadelphia), Bartees Cox (Washington DC), Marcelyn (Philadelphia), Andrew Ryan (New York City), Branden Bauer (Philadelphia), Jake Detwiler (Philadelphia), Internal Rhyme (Los Angeles), Maria Mirenzi of Brother Martin (Philadelphia), Best Hit TV (New Jersey), Juliet Eve (Philadelphia), Esther (Chicago), Erin Fox (Philadelphia), and Plead the Filth (Philadelphia).

It’s evident just from the drive to even seek outside collaboration that Walker is a well-connected musician. While the point of this release is meant to show listeners that A Day Without Love is a genreless, road map-less project, it also reinforces the fact that Walker is the type of person who values what other people can bring to the table. It’s a rare thing when an artist seems to thrive off of that kind of connection rather than wanting to keep their work close to their own chest. His spirit and passion for connection and sharing stories seems to be the driving force behind every project he works on, and that’s admirable.

While Mega Jawn is a purposefully disjointed listen, there’s a grounding sense of intensity and sincerity that unify all the tracks, no matter what genre they fall into. The opener, “Good for Me,” featuring Alexandra Kay March, is a sweet and poppy anti-love song. “Fashit,” featuring Bartees Cox, is an angst-driven, politicized, creeping alt-rock track. The rest of the songs fall everywhere in between, and the intention behind making sure each song can hold its own, leave an impact, and display the unique musicality of Walker and his collaborator is evident. There are moments of sincere poignancy, justified frustration, and quiet introspection weaved through these songs in a very thought-out way.

I haven’t personally seen a collaborative effort to this scale before, and I think the risk of having a long list of credits behind a project paid off in Walker’s favor. A Day Without Love isn’t afraid to push boundaries and work with new people. The payoff is a fantastic amalgam of artists with an enormous amount of creative chemistry.

You can stream Mega Jawn below, or anywhere else you find music.