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.