Floating’s debut album La Di Da gathers seven tracks the band describes as “bluegaze,” a fitting label for their blend of dreamy textures and melancholic undercurrents. The band is comprised of Mary Stii on songwriting/vocals and guitar, Charles Pykus on lead guitar, Reana Konstantis on bass guitar, Jesse Wilburn on drums, and Johnny Danese on keys/synth. Though the Philadelphia group has existed for just over two years, many of the songs on La Di Da have been taking shape since their earliest days together. The result is a romance-tinged, hazy collection that lives up to the band’s name, evoking the sensation of drifting weightlessly through the air.
“Shoulder” opens the album in a soft haze, building slowly with each instrumental layer drifting into place as Mary’s twangy vocals slip through effortlessly. The track follows the unraveling of a former friendship that fell apart when the other person couldn’t accept who they were. Its recurring line, “good luck with your shoulder,” is a gentle but final farewell – an indirect way of saying good luck with your life, and good luck growing older. “Laundry & Taxes” is a a slow-swaying, vintage-sweet romantic ballad about a mismatched relationship and the daydreams of what might have been in another life. “Wendy” continues on this thread, but with more realized closure.
“Sméagol” immediately stands out by title alone, and the song leans into that symbolism. The line “you’re Sméagol, not Gollum,” suggests that the person it’s directed at still has a gentler, truer self beneath the damage. They are capable of goodness, even if they’ve ben pulled toward darker impulses. The song’s gentle sound feels as if it’s trying to coax that softer side back into the light, swaying with a kind of fragile hope.
The next track, “Here’s Johnny,” offers another movie reference and feels like a sequel to the previous song. Its sound is a bit more upbeat and uplifting, but lyrically it continues exploring the hidden sides of people – parts you learn to see as beautiful and worth accepting. These are described as “worms in your dirt,” with the acknowledgement that everyone carries their own “worms” deep down.
The album finishes with “Bangs” and “O Sole Mio,” where the band slips back into their sultry sound before bidding farewell. “Bangs” delves into the sobering realization that someone is not meant for you and not meant to be a long-lasting relationship, despite your ability to get along well in other areas. “O Sole Mio” is a slow-burning album closer, yearning for answers yet accepting that there will continue to be an internal conflict as long as the doomed relationship continues to echo through their lives, a haunting refrain they can’t quite silence but have finally learned to live with.
La Di Da is a tender and vulnerable journey through the realizations that come with a relationship built on push and pull. Floating guides the listener through emotional terrain with a soft but steady hand, offering a debut that feels both intimate and assured. It is a record that opens itself fully and trusts you to meet it there.
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