Ah, post-hardcore. All the "core" genres nowadays are exaustingly repetitive: 90% of the groups have a set of relentless and tedious breakdowns, a chug-chug 0000010 fest, harsh and clean vocals (being this the most variable part in the list) and no bass at all. So what could one think when you come across Dream On, Dreamer and their post-hardcore sound? Well, if you're thinking you're going to listen to the same things every other band does, you're right... or maybe not.
Dream On, Dreamer are a five-piece band from Australia. With their EP, Hope, they showed off to be a post-hardcore band that knows how to do post-hardcore. Nevertheless, their releases have been suffering from the same shortcomings of the genre as a whole. With Heartbound, their debut, they somehow blew up out of nowhere thanks to their "heavy" yet "romantic" sound. Their sophomore effort, Loveless, comes out to make a difference for the band and for their fans.
With a new clean vocalist, Loveless has its differences in sound and atmosphere with their previous releases. In all of their releases they use electronics to support the songs, without being overwhelming or annoying, it's just an adding in the overall sound. The guitar players are nothing out of the ordinary, they play what they have to play. Same goes to the drummer. The harsh vocalist delivers a good show, altough his screaming is more like yelling and tends to be monotone. The clean vocalist doesn't have a insanely high range or a perfectly autotuned voice; he knows what he can do and he does it really well. You can tell he's singing his heart out in some parts, and that gives even more power to the lyrics.
You can tell the mayority of lyrics from their album name - this record is all about love, loss and their derivates, and that goes with a real big highlight in the album opener (that is a very good opener): a nice, clean guitar opens the disc in a slow-paced fashion, mentally preparing you for the journey. When the drums come out, the harsh vocalist does it too, and the atmosphere takes the front seat thanks to really nice effects in the drumming. They both stop after a short time and the clean vocalist enters with "If you're missing me, I'll try to stay alone" You're going to find lyrics like this all over the record, so if you can't enjoy this kind of songs, this isn't for you at all.
This band is not a rip off of every scene post-hardcore band, but it's not a perfect release either. Highlights of both statements can be found throughout the album. After 4 tracks that tend to drag off (Loveless, the song, shows off good ideas but the 3 next tracks bring absolutely nothing new, with the exception of a few parts in Infinity), Hear Me Out comes in. Same ideas as the first track (and I mean the exact same ideas) but better executed. And that's amazing, since the first track was awesome already. Slow-paced tempo, objective drumming, atmosphere-building guitars and heartbreaking yet somehow bland lyrics ("Why can't death set me free? I'm breathing but I can't believe what I'm seeing") makes this song one of the high points in the record, at least for what this is trying to achieve. In the other hand, there are songs like Foundations or Black Maine that are just hollow and fail to deliver a breath of fresh air to the listener.
In the end, this is the sound of a band with potencial. Great, but could be better. If they manage to escape the issues that affect the genre, they would be one of the best bands around. They just need to try harder. If you like good atmospheres, build-ups, lyrics you can relate with, cohesive songs or the genre as a whole, this is for you. However, if you're looking for an AOTY, you should go look elsewhere.
Highlights:
-Loveless
-Hear Me Out
-Neverlove
-The Tracks We Left Behind
