Somewhere between the shimmering sparkle of dream-pop and the apocalyptic rumble of post-punk, at that place where darkwave sonic waters ebb and flow against cooler gothic detachment, you find a sound that blends the best of all of those alternative and underground worlds. Many artists never find their way to this place, never quite able to get the balance right, but it is a place that Dream Bodies calls home.
“Dream Hangover,” the new one from Steven Fleet’s one-man band, is a balanced and beautiful affair. For every ethereal flight of fancy, there is a more earthly sound tethering it, and for every depth-charge bass line and relentless digital beat plowing a furrow through the song, there are cascades of crystalline guitar lifting the spirit. The result is a balance of human urges and heavenly sonic forces competing for control of the music’s very soul.
Plotting a course of recovery in the aftermath of a toxic relationship and reveling in that sense of reawakening as you begin to remember who you were and find ways to put yourself back together, this song, while coming from the most intimate and personal of places, is a sentiment that we can all relate to.
Guitars wash through, synths soar, tribal beats lead the dance, and you are reborn, the same but different from what you have experienced. This is the sound of you learning to live and, hopefully, one day, love again.
