Xodiac’s past few releases have been buoyant and bright, tackling today’s trends with an ease that made them polished but rather generic. New title track Our Days harnesses this effervescent energy and tethers it to a pumping pop rock anthem, taking its cues from popular contemporaries like TWS.

This is a sound that greatly appeals to me and probably always will. Our Days goes down easy, built upon a bounding instrumental with a few structural switch ups here and there. Its sentimental melodies are exactly what you’d expect — pleasant and optimistic and slavishly straightforward. For a song like this to stand out, it must find some way to tether its open-hearted sentiment to the personality and worldview of the artists performing it. This is where Xodiac struggle. They do a fine job with Our Days, but the track could have been delivered by any other group without sounding markedly different.

Still, there’s a place for generic, feel-good pop music. Our Days may not reinvent any wheels, but it’ll make a nice palette cleanser on any playlist. Its final thirty seconds hint at a more anthemic ambition, supporting its light vocals with power chords and evocative synths. More touches like this would have deepened the song’s appeal, adding weight to Our Days‘ feather-light charm.

Grade: B-