dream pop

Waves of Dread Deliver a Dreamy Masterpiece with “The Tide” – EP Review

13th Oct 2024 — Leave a comment

Combining the very best of shoegaze and dream pop, Waves of Dread have produced one of the best EPs to come out of the North East this year with The Tide.

Following up 2023’s A Bad Dream in a Raging Sea, the Newcastle group have pushed themselves forward with their latest release, which combines lush production with excellent songwriting.

This all coalesces into a tight package that feels like waking up to a beautiful morning, with its hazy and distorted production.

Opener The Tide sets the dreamy tone, providing fun basslines and synths aplenty. Beneath the dream pop aesthetics lies an exceptionally written song, with a gorgeous chorus that hits all the right notes.

Early Riser builds on these aesthetics with a very trippy sounding beginning, featuring distant vocals and a beautiful guitar line built upon a bed of rainfall. As the track progresses, it welcomes gorgeously thick basslines into the mix, with a few hauntingly good synth lines thrown in for good measure. The whole thing feels like waking from a nice dream into a perfect morning.

The guitars clean up for Overspill, with its sharp guitar melody. The track once again demonstrates the smart production choices that run through the EP at its core. The use of layering is fabulous, allowing the track to get dirtier as it goes on, as layer upon layer of guitar is added to the overall mix.

Restless Sleeper, Sleepless Dreamer concludes the EP, using a glockenspiel to power the track forward, contributing massively to the dream pop feel. There’s more of an acoustic focus on this track, yet it is still washed in beautiful reverb.

Overall, this dream pop and shoegaze EP is a must-listen for fans of groups such as Slowdive and Cocteau Twins, with sharp songwriting and lush production.

Hannah Robertson’s ‘Blissfully Miles Away’: A Gorgeous Dream Pop Single with a Bite – SINGLE REVIEW

19th Jul 2024 — Leave a comment

Hannah Robertson returns with yet another gorgeously dark single, taking her dream pop sound in a more twisted direction.

Beginning in a realm of dreamy and hypnotic guitars, the track quickly awakens you with a rush of distortion and drums, bringing a gnarly edge to Robertson’s dream pop production.

The influence of groups such as NewDad and Slowdive is evident within the dreamy shoegaze-inspired production. However, an underlying darkness brings a nasty edge to the ethereal track, making it more dream rock than dream pop.

The anticipation built up through the verse explodes in the chorus, which musically acts as a dark counter balance to the airy intro.

Throughout the track, the performances and production are exceptional, helping build a dark, dreamy atmosphere with their crispness.

If you love groups like Wolf Alice and enjoy hypnotic, dreamy production, then this track is perfect for you!

Newcastle Based Dream Pop Artist Mac Benson on songwriting, the future and new EP

1st Nov 2019 — Leave a comment

Friday sees Dream Pop rising star Mac Benson release his second EP ‘Coming of Age’.

Photo by Shona Radcliffe – @shonaradcliffe

The five track EP stretches across a variety of different influences combining to make a poppier sounding record than anything previously seen by the solo artist.

Earlier this week, I sat down with Mac to ask him about the new EP as well as how it came about.

The EP has been two years in the making for Mac Benson after the release of 2018’s ‘Love and All it’s Colour’.

The record covers the themes of love, friendship, loss and growth over the last few years of Benson’s teenhood.

‘Looking back on the last year retrospectively it kind of does feel like a transitional period of my life, and as if the period of time these songs are about are their own little era.’

Musically the EP is also inspired by a particular period with Benson pointing to various pop records released late last year.

Whilst influenced by pop, the EP takes the form of a mixed bag highlighted by the wide array of influences from within the genre.

‘I took a lot of inspiration from pop musicians who I like and grew up on: Lorde, Frank Ocean, The 1975, Taylor Swift, Bleachers. Quite a mixed bag really.’

However, ‘Coming of Age’ sees a change of direction from the singer songwriter, as heard in lead single ‘Divine’.

The single described as the darkest on the record is a perfect starting place for those wishing to preview the vibe of the EP.

However, whilst the track is a darker song, Benson makes clear that there is light on the record as well as a more electronic feel than previous releases.

‘I feel like all the others are a bit lighter in comparison (Divine), at least in terms of the production. Everything’s very electronic on this one though, definitely a departure from the last EP.’

Benson has also experimented with new ways of writing for the record, particularly building a greater understanding of the structure of pop songs which has helped him hone in on his own specific style.

‘To begin with I don’t think I was really that good as a pop writer and I didn’t really have the confidence to try and write to that kind of structure, but while making the EP I feel like it’s just grown into my natural way of doing things.’

Photo by Shona Radcliffe – @shonaradcliffe

A highlight of the singer songwriters work are his lyrics which often go into deep and personal places however according to Benson lyrics come easy due to their honesty.

‘I don’t know how else to do it, I’ve tried writing fictitiously but it just never works for me. I’m a huge overthinker, definitely more dramatic than I’d like to admit and am never short of stuff from my life to draw from.’

‘A lot of the time I’ll actually realize how I’m feeling through writing. Like I’ll just write things subconsciously, sometimes I’ll finish a whole song and be like ‘oh I guess that was what was up’, it can be really cathartic sometimes.’

It is this approach to songwriting which makes Mac’s music incredibly relatable, endearing and most of all amazing.

Mac Benson’s new EP ‘Coming of Age’ is out now on Bandcamp.

Follow Mac on Instagram here: macbenson_

All photos were taken by Shona Radcliffe make sure to follow her on her Instagram for more amazing photography: shonaradcliffe