Prime Video’s highly anticipated new series, “Daisy Jones & The Six,” released its first three episodes on March 3 along with its album, “Aurora.”
Based on Taylor Jenkins Reid’s fiction novel, “Daisy Jones & The Six,” the show follows a rock band from the 1970s and highlights the relationship between the band’s lead singers, Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin) and Daisy Jones (Riley Keough). “Aurora” adds depth to their love story and left me pleasantly surprised.
Usually, listening to the soundtrack of a TV show without having seen it leaves something to be desired — but “Aurora” shines on its own. The themes of each song vary from falling in love to angst and desperation. The vocals by Keough and Claflin are the perfect blend of soft and powerful.
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The album opens with the title track “Aurora.” The music of “Daisy Jones & The Six” clearly fits into the rock ’n’ roll genre here, as the first five seconds introduce a strong drum and electric guitar presence that continue to the very end. It is an intense start to the album, but it gives a taste of what elements you will hear in the next 10 songs.
Keough goes solo on “Two Against Three,” the fourth track on the album. Her delicate and sweet vocals interrupt the rock-heavy pattern to introduce a lighter tone as she pines for love with nothing more than an acoustic guitar. Putting this song in the first half of the set list was a smart choice, as it broke up the repetitive nature of the first three songs and showed both intimacy and variety in a sobering ballad.
With a similar mix of acoustic and electric instrumentation, the album is essentially a love letter to Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” album. “You Were Gone” channels the same soft rock nature — and tempo — of “Dreams” and “Look at Us Now (Honeycomb)” includes an electric guitar solo so similar to the one featured in “The Chain” that I forgot which song I was listening to.
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Even the singers behind this new album face similar obstacles to that of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham — the lead singers of Fleetwood Mac. “Aurora” is arguably a parallel and tribute to that turbulent, yet iconic relationship that defined the “Rumours” album.
Regardless of these similarities, “Aurora” is nothing if not well-rounded. It combines elements of rock n’ roll, acoustic and soft pop genres that bring back the best parts of the 1970s. The vocals of Keough and Claflin add a powerful and intimate flare to the lyrics that could not be achieved by a different pairing.
The tales of heartbreak, love and angst that are featured on this album need no support from their backstories told in “Daisy Jones & The Six.” They stand alone as radio-worthy songs that seem like they have been around for decades. Watching the show may provide context to these songs, but it is not necessary to enjoy them.
