Pokazywanie postów oznaczonych etykietą dream rock. Pokaż wszystkie posty
Pokazywanie postów oznaczonych etykietą dream rock. Pokaż wszystkie posty

środa, 3 maja 2023

Rosa Vertov - Reflected In (2023)


The truest noisy dream pop band in Poland, Rosa Vertov have just released their new EP. It's been only two years since their second LP called Reflected In but a lot managed to change in the meantime, with the vital change in the band's line-up as the main thing..

As Olga Gniadzik left the band, it is now a trio and this fact reflects on the music they play. Now, their slow and melancholic music is more minimalist which makes it in turn more introvert and self-reflective. Particular elements of their music have more space and it's easy to focus on them separately, admiring the use of grunge'y guitar, noisy backgrounds and fantastic melodies. This is what I like about their music the most: while focusing on the tear-jerking atmosphere, they are perfectly able to smuggle some mindblowing melodies (like in Fading Out for example).

They say that their music "breaks dream pop dreaminess with a good dose of nightmarish unease and melancholy". The way the artists thick up the atmosphere with the use of backing vocals and organ-sounding keys is definitely top class. The album's finish in All We Have Must Be Enough makes the whole experience drastically heavier and more melancholic and I'm here for it.

Reflected In costs whatever you want to pay.


Check: Fading Out
Country: Poland
Genre: slowcore dream rock



czwartek, 2 lutego 2023

Theory of Ghosts - EP1 (2023)


I couldn't be happier that Piano Magic's sound lives so long after the band dissolved. Last year it was the release of Future Conditional's second album and Piano Magic's two "lost" remixes (Ovariations). This year it's the debut of Glen Johnson and Franck Alba's new project called Theory of Ghosts.

When writing about Future Conditional, I mentioned that it feels like Piano Magic with a small genre-shift. So now it sounds... basically like Piano Magic. Even the project's name comes from one of my favourite songs (taken from Disaffected) which makes clear that it is some kind of continuation - even if not the continuation of the band, certainly the continuation of the aesthetics and music philosophy. It's ghost rock once again: slowcore's pace, rock guitar compositions, dreamy vocals. This plus lyrics that feel like whole stories, gives out the essence of the old Piano Magic. The three musicians (there's also Robert Hervais-Adelman on drums) are joined by Philicorda and cello artists who make the artsy and moody part of the project even more significant.

It's good to hear that Johnson and Alba are far from retiring from music.

EP1 costs 4.5 EUR (4 GBP).

Check: When the Rain Stops
Country: UK
Genre: ghost rock
Label: Second Language Music



wtorek, 18 października 2022

Pencey Sloe - Neglect (2022)


Pencey Sloe are based in Paris and they create particularly moody dream pop/rock music. Their second album is called Neglect and was released last summer; right in time to provide us with some of the oneiric tunes for this autumn.

The music here is right on the "path of cinematic soundscapes and beautiful psychedelic colours" as it's stated on the band's Bandcamp page. The focus is certainly put on creating the engaging and thick atmosphere of melancholy and mystery, and it's only the artists' skill that makes it possible to balance it with Diane Pellotieri's beautifully dreamy vocals. Especially tricky since she, as the song-writer, deals here with a heavy theme of self-consciousness and the most existential question of "who am I?" - not so easy to wear it with catchy melodies. There's also more nuance to the album than simply tagging it as dream pop as there are parts that are simply pieces of atmospheric post-rock/instrumental ambient (beautiful Sigh).

Probably the most surprising thing about this album, though, are the guest musicians from the highest world level of... metal music. That's right, two parts of The Run feature Alcest's Neige and Jesu's Justin Broadrick, but I must say that they don't add much to the album. I feel like Pelloteri's vocals and the band's heavier dream pop tunes are right where they should be on their own.

Neglect costs 6.99 USD.

Check: Inner
Country: France
Genre: atmospheric dream pop
Label: Prophecy Productions



piątek, 17 grudnia 2021

Pertegò - Una (2021)


Pertegò and their emotional music appeared on my blog three years ago with their previous album Black. In the meantime, the Emilia-Romagna-based group celebrated the 10 years anniversary of their debut album and now, to underline this achievement, they showed their fourth album mischievously called Una.

The focus point for their art is nature and its forces, they are "telling stories about still free nature, they are talking about their world made of simple things and the nature that gave them birth" and fittingly, the music on the new album ranges from delicate and airy places to sky-reaching, breath-taking monuments made of sound. Just like the world around us was meant to be. The artists do that with an epic take on melancholic post-rock/prog-rock music with extremely heavy focus on creating the airy and ethereal atmosphere. The inclusion of piano keys gives it the delicate notes, the string sequences add to the whole thing's tear-jerking nostalgia, the oneiric-sounding vocals bring the element of Sacrum and simultaneously makes me think of the soundtrack for Civilization V, my favourite gaming soundtrack ever - with similar orchestral/choral take on the ethereal music. I love it so much as it goes on and delivers more and more nostalgic cinematic vibes and, simply speaking, beauty.

For the band, the album is "the end of the fifteen-year journey, a journey that has described [them] in every moment of [their] life until today" and, at the same time, marks the time of personal changes within the band's line-up. As a result, the album sounds fittingly epic (it's not always that an album means so much for a group of people) and magical.

Una costs 8 EUR.


Check: Una
Country: Italy
Genre: orchestral ethereal post-rock



środa, 17 listopada 2021

Optloquat - From the Shallow (2021)


There has been an excess of the East Asian airy music recently and it doesn't seem to stop. The next one on the table is the Japanese Optloquat. Their loud, shoegazing music gives so much of the ethereal kind of energy, so much needed in the cloudy autumn times. They provided it on their debut LP album called From the Shallow.

The vocals here don't sound very airy per se, their dreamy abilities lay in the fact that they are hidden under the music and start in a very, very subtle way (even though they are very melodic). Even when the vocalist sounds more rock-like or sometimes even as if he was almost screaming (in 紡ぐ日々 where he sings in Japanese and it weirdly sound like an anime series' intro song), it still is lost under the overwhelming guitar music. It is very loud, very noisy and very energetic. The artists make it very rock-like but sometimes there's more nuance to it, forcing the music to go in a more dream-pop direction (like in Lapes). Still, it's always filled with the psychedelic energy and flow that makes the audience fall into the spiral of guitar trance; it's so well audible in Imaginary Host: ridiculously mesmerizing and catchy song. Pure, psychedelic fun.

From the Shallow costs 7 USD.

Check: Imaginary Host
Country: Japan
Genre: noisy psychedelic rock
Label: Jigsaw Records



poniedziałek, 4 października 2021

Pia Fraus - Now You Know It Still Feels the Same (2021)


Pia Fraus is a huge deal and it's been like this for 20 years now - until the dawn of Holy Motors, they were the only Estonian dream pop/rock band present within the world offstream audience's mindset, not to mention that they also run the resourceful music label Seksound. Now, to celebrate the impressive anniversary, the artists released the debut album Wonder What It's Like from 2001 in a new, reworked version cleverly entitled Now You Know It Still Feels the Same.

The track list is not exactly the same as the original release, but all the songs were written between 1999 and 2000 when the artists were still in their teenagehood when "most things happened by accident". This re-work is supposed to propose an agreement between the youngster's happy and enthusiastic music with the more experienced artist's workshop - it doesn't only sound great, I bet it must've been a fun and nostalgic trip down the line for the artists. And you can easily hear that there's no dissonance here, the, probably, almost 40-years-olds sound so energetic (which is so well audible in  the almost punk-like Obnoxious) and cute, definitely having fun (re)making those songs.

As all Pia Fraus' fans know, listening to their albums means dealing with dream pop/twee atmosphere of carefree melodies and sunny vibes with slightly louder, guitar-based attire. I feel like those compositions are a bit faster and livelier than what the Estonians do these days, but the signature dreamy vibes are surely there. Especially in those, rare here, moments of slower and more atmospheric music, In Mind or the second part of Swim in Eyes are a reminder that there's still a place for melancholy in youth. Or maybe it's how we see it from our perspective?

Now You Know It Still Feels the Same costs 10 EUR.


Check: Obnoxious
Country: Estonia
Genre: twee dream pop
Label: Seksound



wtorek, 14 września 2021

Sungaze - This Dream (2021)


Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow are a married couple and also a band, their beautiful and dreamy music was already posted about here two years ago when the Ohio-based artists released their debut album. It has to be said that while the debut was brilliant, the follow-up in the form of this year's album called This Dream is nothing short of equally good.

The release title says everything about the music here. The album is opened with a subtle but touching intro that makes the second part of Look Away and its guitar sounds even more emphatic. But in general, the album is more about airy melodies than loud bursts, more about the ethereal laziness than anything rapid and uncomfortable. Even if the lyrics do point to some intriguingly uneasy topics, the music, its catchiness and dreamy atmosphere soothes them down. That said, my favourite Body in the Mirror is quite unnerving in the way it reminds us of the tiring burdens of existence while presenting also a frustratingly catchy tune. I think the album's last but one track's title, Strength in Softness, may be very much a meta-commentary to the artists' whole approach to music.

As before, the concept of their music revolves around Hilvert and Snow's vocals being in a form of a musical dialogue. Snow sounds sometimes like a true dreamy vocalist should, sometimes goes more into the lazy-like manner of Holy Motors' Eliann Tulve and this is a considerable compliment from my side. Oh, and don't forget - sungazing is something you can do only metaphorically unless you have special equipment to do so.

This Dream costs 7 USD.


Check: Body in the Mirror
Country: Ohio, US
Genre: dreamgaze



środa, 11 sierpnia 2021

Rosa Vertov - Day In Day Out (2021)


The Warsaw-based band Rosa Vertov debuted in 2017 with an album Who Would Have Thought?. This year, they first released the follow-up in the form of Day In Day Out and very, very soon, they will appear on Soundrive Festival, the biggest off-music festival in Poland this year.

In their music, there's "distorted guitars immersed in reverb, resonant, vibrating bass, trancey drums" with dreamy vocals on top of that. On the not too broad Polish dream music scene, the band stands out with the ability to create some ethereal atmosphere in otherwise quite fast and joyful songs that open this release. I especially like the organ sounds that are present in the backgrounds, adding sacral, church-like notes to the already dreamy and spacious music. However, the band sounds best in slower ballads where their airy potential peaks up (so beautiful in Until Blue in the Face or in my favourite, spoken word and noise-filled Scolding Myself II). In most places, it is still indie rock/pop music but the layer of oneirism is so thick, you can easily get lost within the album.

And it's those noisy, hazy parts is what I love about this album. Songs like Scolding... and Years Gone By are what every fan of dreamy music should reach for. And I have to mention the beautiful cover art created by Wiktor Malinowski. This is some top-notch dream music visuals, world class.

Day In Day Out costs whatever you want to pay.

Check: Scolding Myself II
Country: Poland
Genre: dreamy rock



środa, 14 lipca 2021

Tanner Merritt - CYRUS I: WEIGHT OF REFLECTION (2021)


Tanner Merritt is an artist probably best known for being the vocalist in the post-hardcore band O'Brother. However, back in 2013 he released a solo album and now it's time for the follow-up in CYRUS I: WEIGHT OF REFLECTION.

The music here is very far from what the artist does with his band. The album shows a unique blend of various offstream genres including industrial electronica and goth rock with IAMX's vibes, all set within an ethereal atmosphere. The latter is provided mostly by the subtle vocals, never too loud and too expressive as the emotional part is conveyed by lyrics that talk about grief, anger and all the emotions that are human but also difficult to comprehend. They fit so well with the eclectic, very modern-sounding backgrounds. There's so much going on there with guitars, piano keys and a lot of electronic sounds, but they are still very able to sound very coherent and never over the top. This helps in achieving probably the mot important goal here: being catchy and moody and intimate at the same time.

And moody it is for sure. The quiet experimental chaos in the backgrounds is put into the form by the ethereal vibes and poignant lyrics. There are so many track here, like EXIT SIGN or GLEAM IN THE GREY, that are simply overflowed with dense airy atmosphere. The levels of echoes and backing vocals in some places put this, after all, modern and eclectic electronic pop album, within the dominium of airy dream pop at the same time.

CYRUS I: WEIGHT OF REFLECTION costs 7 USD.

Check: EXIT SIGN
Country: Georgia, US
Genre: dreamy modern pop



piątek, 9 lipca 2021

Sky Is Alright - Sky Is Alright (2021)


The London/LA-based Sky Is Alright released their first album Sky Is Alright  and it may be one of the most interesting ethereal music releases this year. The duo consists of the artists known from post-rock/mathrock bands The Littlest Viking and Signal Hill, but now they create this extremely soft-vocals very guitar-based dreamy music that takes you straight to Morpheus' Realms.

What strikes the most from the beginning is how airy the vocals are - they're not your dreamy indie pop vocals, they are an ethereal cushion, an incarnate dream, the most delicate male voice since, perhaps, Hanging Valleys. Those whispers are accompanied by very rock-like guitars (no place for soothing synths, everything is filled with the pop-rock vigour) in catchy compositions. Especially Sky Is Alright and Indigo Moon deserve special attention  while  Mistress Pessimist may be the liveliest dream rock song I heard for a while now. The whole album finishes with extremely mellow songs that make it feel as if the whole release simply dissolves into the air.

Sky Is Alright costs 8 USD.

Check: Indigo Moon
Country: UK
Genre: ethereal indie rock
Label: Somewherecold



wtorek, 23 lutego 2021

Лензвук - Монстр (2021)


The Russian band Лензвук had been releasing short singles for a while (I included their Глупые белые люди as one to check out back in 2019) before they finally released their first longer album. So here comes the EP called Монстр.

I revisited what I wrote back then and everything still seems legit: the Petersburg-based musicians make alternative rock with psychedelic and post-rock influences, mixing them with the vibes I always get from the Russians legends of Сплин. The very melodic vocals are also soften down a bit and thus they go a tiny bit towards what I would call dream rock. But at the same time, the way the songs and especially choruses are constructed, reminds me of post-punk songs - with Можно спасти as the best example. This only confirms how many different things influenced the band and what a rich music it is.

To further confirm that this is not just a random project taken from Bandcamp by coincidence, let's just mention that the last song features Sasha Galianov, the member of the Russian dance post-punk prodigies - Shortparis. 

Монстр costs 7 USD.

Check: Глупые белые люди
Country: Russia
Genre: psychedelic alt rock



piątek, 18 grudnia 2020

meadowlake - Wait for Me (2020) EN


The Dutch meadowlake have a debut album from 2018 in their portfolio and now they added a new position there, a new release called Wait for Me. And this dreamy to the core dream pop is the best that could happen during so autumny a December like this now.

The album check every item on the best dream pop album checklist. First of all, the ethereal vocals on a similar level that those of RiLF or Hanging Valley so those that for me establish the uberairy vocals on the verge of whispering. Second thing, delicate melodies that melt in the airy atmosphere but before they do, make the listener swing a lot. Third, the artists don't shy away from using some louder, clearer guitars where it's needed. Up to the point where we can easily talk about dream rock here. But never mind the labels, medowlake makes such a dose of dream pop haze that yuo can hardly find anything like it.

Especially when the final notes of Under Your Spell sound, this dense atmosphere of a love ballad is something I haven't heard for a while.

Wait For Me costs 10 EUR.

Check: Under Your Spell
Country: The Netherlands
Genre: ethereal dream rock



meadowlake - Wait for Me (2020) PL


Holenderskie meadowlake ma na koncie debiut sprzed dwóch lat teraz wzbogacony o kontynuację w postaci płyty Wait for Me. I taki rozmarzony do granic możliwości dream pop to najpiękniejsze, co się mogło wydarzyć takim jesiennym grudniem jak ten teraz.

Płyta odhacza wszystko, co potrzebne dla udanego albumu dreampopowego. Przede wszystkim eteryczne wokale dorównujące tym RiLF czy Hanging Valley, które są dla mnie odnośnikiem ubereteryczności na granicy szeptu. Po drugie, delikatne melodie, które rozpływają się w zwiewnej atmosferze ale zanim to zrobią, zmuszają do bezwarunkowego kołysania się. Po trzecie, artyści nie unikają korzystania z głośniejszych, bardziej wyraźnych gitar tam, gdzie to potrzebne. Do tego stopnia, że śmiało możemy mówić w tym przypadku o dream rocku. Ale labelki na bok, meadowlake to taki kawał dreampopowego odurzenia, że ze świecą szukać podobnego. 

Zwłaszcza, gdy rozbrzmiewają ostatnie dźwięki Under Your Spell, tej gęstej od atmosfery miłosnej balladzie, niczego piękniejszego dawno nie słyszałem.

Wait For Me kosztuje 45 złotych (10 EUR).

Sprawdź: Under Your Spell
Kraj: Holandia
Szufladka: ethereal dream rock



wtorek, 24 listopada 2020

Nothing - The Great Dismal (2020) EN


The Pennsylvanian Nothing obviously make a very well-known brand on the nugaze stage, their melodic compositions and on-purpose not really beautiful cover arts are known to any fan of the genre. This year the Americans released their fourth album and you can safely say that they only go up.

It's no surprise that The Great Dismal is another album recently that is inspired by the pandemics and explores "existentialist themes of isolation, extinction, and human behavior in the face of 2020’s vast wasteland". Just like the situation this year, the album starts peacefully though in a very moody way in A Fabricated Life only to get rapidly sped up. Already in Say Less we do heave loud guitars and distortions clearly put in the foreground. Not to mention how awesome this track is in general - everything fits perfectly here: melodies, vocals, guitar noise and samples.

Another tracks balance between indie rock notes with clear vocals and riffing guitars (as in Catch a Fade) and what we love the band for the most: dense, shoegazing backgrounds filling the space with the melodic loudness. Exactly this ability to merry the noisy with the pop-like melodies is fascinating in the Americans' works, and on this new album it's audible not only in Say Less but also in Bernie Sandersie, In Blueberry Memories or Blue Mecca. I love it.

The Great Dismal costs 9.99 USD.

Check: Say Less
Country: Pennsylvania, US
Genre: melodic nugaze
Label: Relapse Records



Nothing - The Great Dismal (2020) PL


Pensylwańskie Nothing to naturalnie uznana marka na scenie nugaze'u, ich melodyjne kompozycje i celowo niepiękne okładki znane są każdemu fanowi gatunku na świecie. W tym roku Amerykanie wydali swój czwarty krążek i trzeba przyznać, że poziomem swojej muzyki idą tylko w górę.

Nie jest niespodzianką, że The Great Dismal to kolejna ostatnio płyta, która inspiruje się pandemią i eksploruje "egzystencjalistyczne tematy związane z izolacją, wymieraniem i ludzkim zachowaniem w obliczu pustkowia jakim jest rok 2020". Tak jak sytuacja w tym roku, płyta zaczyna się spokojnie chociaż bardzo nastrojowo w A Fabricated Life po to by wkrótce gwałtownie przyspieszyć. Tak, że już w Say Less mamy głośne gitary i rzucające się na pierwszy plan distorty. Nie mówiąc jak doskonały jest to utwór tak w ogóle - wszystko tu ze sobą gra: melodie, wokale, brud gitar i sample.

Kolejne kawałki balansują między indie rockowymi nutami z wyraźnym wokalem i riffującymi gitarami (jak w Catch a Fade) i tym co lubimy najbardziej: gęstym, shoegaze'owym tłem wypełniającym przestrzeń melodyjnym hałasem. Właśnie ta umiejętność godzenia noise'u z praktycznie popowymi melodiami jest u Amerykanów fascynująca, a na nowej płycie objawia się nie tylko w Say Less ale też między innymi w Bernie Sandersie, In Blueberry Memories czy Blue Mecca. Fantastyczne.

The Great Dismal kosztuje 38 złotych (9,99 USD).

Sprawdź: Say Less
Kraj: Pensylwania, US
Szufladka: melodic nugaze
Label: Relapse Records



czwartek, 20 sierpnia 2020

Nieeve - Lo fundamental permanece (2020) EN


Nieeve is a band from Argentina who is among my favourite ones since the release of their previous EP called Nuestros inviernos encuentran el viento elevándonos  last year. Now they showed some more material on the next short album Lo fundamental permanece.

The quartet is characterized by the extremely attractive combination of ethereal atmosphere and post-rock music. And we've got the same thing on the new album. No wonder it's signed by the picture of clouds seen from above - the music here is airy as the clouds as well as expressive and flying far above the ground at the same time. Loud guitars (sometimes very, very loud like in the great, massive parts of Naufragamos) and airy vocals taken almost directly from ultra-delicate dream pop. I love it.

They sound wonderful in the crystal-keys-driven Dibujando el vacio, very dream pop A pesar de la Tormenta or tear-jerking finish in Mar abierto. And all of this despite the fact that there are clearly audible issues from recording/producing. Well, in this case, it's not the most important thing.

Lo fundamental permanece costs 5 USD.


Check: Naufragamos
Country: Argentina
Genre: dreamy post-rock



Nieeve - Lo fundamental permanece (2020) PL


Nieeve to zespół z Argentyny, który należy do moich faworytów od wydania ich poprzedniej EP-ki Nuestros inviernos encuentran el viento elevándonos  rok temu. Teraz pokazali ciut więcej materiału na kolejnej krótkiej płytce Lo fundamental permanece.

Kwartet charakteryzuje się nadzwyczaj pociągającym połączeniem eterycznego klimatu i post-rockowego grania. I w zasadzie mamy tego powtórkę i na nowym wydawnictwie. Nic dziwnego, że firmuje je zdjęcie sponad chmur - muzyka na niej jest jednocześnie eteryczna jak chmury właśnie oraz ekspresyjna i unosząca się wysoko nad ziemią. Głośne gitary (miejscami bardzo głośne, świetne, masywne fragmenty w Naufragamos) a jednocześnie eteryczne wokale żywcem zabrane z ultra-delikatnego dream popu. Uwielbiam.

Świetnie to brzmi w napędzanym kryształowymi klawiszami w Dibujando el vacio, bardzo dreampopowym A pesar de la Tormenta czy wzruszającym finale w Mar abierto. I to wszystko mimo tego, że słychać pewne niedoskonałości w nagraniu/produkcji. Cóż, akurat w tym przypadku nie jest to najważniejsze. 

Lo fundamental permanece kosztuje 19 złotych (5 USD).


Sprawdź: Naufragamos
Kraj: Argentyna
Szufladka: dreamy post-rock



środa, 26 lutego 2020

Pia Fraus - Empty Parks (2020) EN


Pia Fraus are an absolute legend of the airy music from Estonia. Although the over-two-decade-old band recently got at least successors under the name of Holy Motors, they are not going to silently go into the night and released first album for three years, called Empty Parks.

Their style sounds like non-pretentious twee pop with guitars and tons of dream pop atmosphere added. That's why their songs are bot light and melodic as well as dense and ethereal. It's very much thanks to the vocals of course, the softness of which can barely be achieved by others, especially when they add some subtle backing vocals (as in the great Mr. Land Freezer). In fact, their music could be shown in Sèvres as a blueprint for dream rock. Soothing and delicate but also one that doesn't make you fall asleep and have some of the shoegaze pugnacity (in Paper Flower Projects for example).

Empty Parks costs 10 EUR.

Check: Mr. Land Freezer
Country: Estonia
Genre: dream pop-rock



Pia Fraus - Empty Parks (2020) PL


Pia Fraus to absolutna legenda estońskiego eterycznego grania. I chociaż grający od ponad dwóch dekad tallińczycy doczekali się co najmniej następców w postaci Holy Motors, nie zamierzają łatwo oddać sceny i wydają pierwszą od trzech lat płytę Empty Parks.

Ich styl przypomina bezpretensjonalny twee pop z dodanymi gitarami i toną dreampopowej atmosfery. Dzięki temu ich kawałki są jednocześnie lekki i melodyjne, ale też duszne i eteryczne. Duże znaczenie ma tu oczywiście wokal, któremu miękkością niewielu dorównuje, zwłaszcza, gdy Estończycy dodają do tego delikatne chórki (jak w świetnym Mr. Land Freezer). W zasadzie ich twórczość mogłaby być wystawiana w Sèvres jako wzorzec prawidłowo zrobionego dream rocka. Kojącego i łagodnego, chociaż nieusypiającego i mającego trochę z zadziorności shoegaze'u (Paper Flower Projects chociażby).

Empty Parks kosztuje 44 złote (10 EUR).

Sprawdź: Mr. Land Freezer
Kraj: Estonia
Szufladka: dream pop-rock