New Release: Packaging (Share It Music)

Seattle’s Daniel Lyon of Spirit Award and Denver’s Daniel “Connor” Birch of Flaural have been friends for some time. While working together and running in similar musical circles, the duo has been working on their debut, the self-titled Packaging for the past three years. The result is the stunning and refreshing piece of work.

The album’s first track, “Always Calling,” kickstarts the album with a heady rhythm section and synths abounding. Lyon takes on lead vocals in what could be described as a twenty-first-century 80s vibe. “Running Through the Airport” continues in that sense, adding an eerie beauty and sense of urgency with a heartbeat reverberating throughout.

Released on the non-profit record label Share It Music and distributed by Sub Pop, this debut is the album you didn’t know you needed in 2025. The cover art is simple and bleak, an aerial view of the duo in a rowboat on a windy, blue-green sea. The actual packaging of Packaging is literally a giant Ziplock bag, at least for the one I picked up at Wax Trax in Denver.

“Amarillo” consists of ethereal sounds under a voice instructing the listener the pronunciation of the city name. “We are looking at how to pronounce the name of the city in the U.S. state of Texas / The name itself means yellow in Spanish” as an angelic voice sings, “Go to sleep, go to sleep.” This song has the potential of being marketed as a genuine sleep aid. “On Holiday” is a dreamy piece of work destined to worm its way into your brain. Lyons lulls you into a state of oblivious consciousness as he repeats, “Oh my shadow / Oh my shadow…”

Easily the most danceable track on the album, if you choose to move your body in that way, is “In Your Pocket,” a caffeinated rhythm section drives this one as the song unfolds, “Struck a match, in my pocket / Lights pants, strike and toss it / I can’t, seem to stop it / Caught, fire, out of options.” The lyrics sounds as mysterious as the music.

In the words of the band, their sound, “…fuses psychedelic textures, krautrock chug, electronic grandeur, tuneful accessibility, and just a little bit of bristling self-awareness.” A more apt comparison cannot be put into words. But this is not solely a Lyon-Birch collaboration; several musical contributors were involved from bands who just may have influenced the sound of this release. Those include Luke Temple (Here We Go Magic), Ash Reiter (Sugar Candy Mountain), James Barone (Beach House), and Andy Rauworth (Gauntlet Hair). The melodies resonate as you would imagine. Check out these bands.

“With My Girl” has the potential of joining the pantheon of love songs (The Temptations‘ classic “My Girl” or “Message to My Girl” by Split Enz) exhibiting true, unadulterated passion. When is the last time you commented on time spent with your significant other, as “Stuck at the airport, our flight’s been delayed / Can’t find a reason that I should complain.” Now that’s love. Another highpoint on the album is, “Never As It Was,” a beautiful thing with hooks to last a lifetime. Cohesive and solid, the band provides a lush escape from your daily grind, feeling like a momentary crush.

The closing track “Say What You Need” goes out as you would think: atmospheric, emotional, fading, as they allow the listener to, “Say what you wanna say / Be what you wanna be.” A musical and aural meditation. Packaging is a tremendous debut effort bound to make some year-end lists.

For tour dates and to buy the album, visit the Packaging website or their Bandcamp page.

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