Donovan Days is a new name from a familiar face – Philly emcee and producer Ialive. After a 2020 that saw him release projects such as his producer compilation project I’ll Wait Forever and his collaborative project with Cody Cody Jones, Cool Code & Don, he’s wasting no time in 2021, coming back with a new name and album, Donovan Days.

The interesting thing about Donovan Days is that while there is a name change and a certain shift of style to the album, this doesn’t feel like a radical departure the way it would if you described this album the same way for a different artist. That description is that Donovan has moved from psychedelic and garage rock-sampling boom bap beats and rapping to crafting some original indie/garage rock, while still incorporating some hip hop drums. This is to say that the album is more melodic and a bit more meditative as Donovan stretches out his words with some thoughtful melodies over fuzzy guitars and drums with plenty of reverb, but it really feels like a natural extension of where his production has been the last couple of years. The real difference here is that the words are slowed down and spaced out more, but Ialive has been singing his own hooks for a while now, so this subtle shift is pretty palatable and easy to adjust your ears to. The drums are still being programmed like a hip hop producer, but everything else is organic and played by Donovan – the guitars, keyboards, and bass. He does get an assist on one track, when The Binary Marketing Show from Portland, Oregon hop on “Waiting on the Night,” and take it to a special place with the addition of their vocals. The whole thing comes together for this really sweet and personal listening experience that hits this sweet spot between hip hop and garage rock that you didn’t know you were looking for.

Donovan Days is a nice way to start 2021 for the artist also known as Ialive. It’s a little different, but not completely unexpected, but more than anything it’s a really thoughtful and beautiful album with great songwriting and production.