Colorado’s A Shoreline Dream return with Waiting, twenty years after their debut album, Avoiding the Consequences. Opening track “20” is immediately captivating, its long, dragged-out guitar tones dissolving into reverb, carrying a melody with the hazy, psychedelic sweetness of Melody’s Echo Chamber. Ryan Policky’s airy vocals are wonderfully suited to the arrangement, their softness blending with the guitars as the music gradually grows heavier. By the final stretch, the distortion has become immense, filling the space once occupied by those gentler notes while the melody continues to drift through it.
The accompanying video for “20,” filmed and directed by Policky, stars Julianna Beckert wandering through dreamlike scenes around Denver and Barnum, Colorado. Among its locations is the 8th Street bridge, a place Policky wanted to capture knowing that familiar parts of the city may eventually disappear. It’s a particularly touching detail given the personal reflections behind Waiting. Policky has spent much of his life wondering what might come of his dedication to music, and has become increasingly conscious of how much time passes while waiting for something to happen.
“Always in Dreams” picks up the pace with heavier guitar, the bright shimmer of a tambourine, and an earthy softness to Policky’s singing. On “Legacy,” the psychedelic melody has an almost hypnotic pull before giving way to a gloriously crushed guitar riff. The drums are particularly satisfying, keeping a measured, deliberate pace beneath the saturated guitar and allowing its roughness to come through in full. Longtime collaborator and guitarist Erik Jeffries contributes to this track, as well as “Open My…” and “Dwell on Dwell on,” bringing his musicianship to three of the album’s distinct arrangements.
“In the Clouds” is especially lovely, beginning with a burst of distortion before retreating into acoustic guitar, delicate vocals, and a gorgeous atmospheric pad. The softer instrumentation brings an intimacy to Policky’s voice, while the pad floats quietly behind the melody, giving the music a warm, almost weightless quality. There’s something faintly reminiscent of trip-hop in its dreamy atmosphere, particularly in the gentle layering of sounds. Having already heard the distorted opening, you find yourself anticipating its return throughout the quieter passages, even as the acoustic arrangement becomes increasingly absorbing. When the guitars finally begin to swell again, the shift feels wonderfully natural, the heavier sounds emerging from music that has become so tender.
Elsewhere, “Triggered” arrives with an entirely different sort of intensity. Its distortion is sharper and crisper, with a driving melody that practically begs to be played at full volume. It’s the sort of song you imagine blasting while driving with the windows down, the rushing air mingling with the guitars and transforming the sound around you. There’s a terrific physical rush to its momentum, particularly after the more delicate passages elsewhere on the record. “Bleed & Reject” slows things considerably, with spiky percussion and prominent hi-hat accents bringing a more restless texture to the rhythm.
The mellower “Dwell on Dwell on” carries a faint melancholy, its gentle psychedelic guitar tones settling into an unhurried, almost contemplative atmosphere. There’s a softness here that makes it easy to become lost in thought, with the melody lingering pleasantly beneath the vocals. Closing track “Don’t Fall Light” moves into stranger territory, its darker, more unsettled character recalling the uneasy atmosphere of Thom Yorke’s “Hearing Damage.” Yet there is still a sweetness to its blurred psychedelic textures, giving the record a curious, slightly disorienting finish.
Policky’s involvement in Waiting extends far beyond his vocals. He wrote the album’s material, apart from “Open My…,” which he co-wrote with Jeffries, and personally handled its production, recording, mixing, and mastering. That degree of involvement has been central to A Shoreline Dream’s independent history. Since forming in 2005, the project has developed an extensive catalogue and worked with musicians including Ulrich Schnauss and Mark Gardener of Ride, the latter also appearing on their earlier 2026 album, To Where They Have Gone.
For Policky, Waiting arrives after years of balancing the demands of making music with everything else that life asks of a person. His reflections on ageing, sacrifice, and the uncertainty of what remains are especially personal after two decades devoted to the project. Yet there’s a palpable enthusiasm in the music itself, from the pleasure of a guitar riff pushed into heavy distortion to the patience given to the quietest instrumental details. With two albums released in 2026, A Shoreline Dream seem to have found renewed energy in the very work that has occupied so much of their lives. Waiting is a beautifully textured record, and one that makes those years of dedication feel wonderfully tangible.
Waiting is out now via Latenight Weeknight Records.
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