EP Review: No Angel by Dreams End
EP Artwork for No Angel by Dreams End
Texas has been a boiling point for hardcore, metalcore and the likes for years and it doesn’t look like it wants to slow down in the slightest. Amongst the inundation of cookie cutter modern metalcore bands that’ll likely see their legacy realised in the sale section of the Impericon website, Texas has raised some of the most influential bands like At The Drive-In and Sky Eats Airplane whilst also dropping some of the most promising EPs we’ve seen in recent times from bands like Paradise, Cable, Bleed, Joust, Drip-Fed, the list goes on.
Dreams End from San Antonio/Corpus Christi, not to be confused with the Swedish 2000s indie pop band of the same name are the latest to take their bite out of the lone star state with their latest EP No Angel. 6 tracks following the age-old Myspace band practice of committing to questionable song titles that don’t take themselves too seriously but give a clear indication as to what this EP could sound like before you even hit play.
Easing us into the first track, Mac of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s “not a thunderstorm, but a storm of fists” monologue leads the way while the drums and guitars flesh out the background building tension with cymbal trills and a dissonant arpeggio. With tension built we’re granted with silence undesired by their vocalist who delivers tortured moments of self-reflection in their lyrics that are just as jagged as the staccato-patterned guitar lead behind it. Before we know it the rest of the band backs up the vocals alongside a subtle feature from fallfiftyfeet and there we have it, short and sweet, to the point and no messing around. No Angel introduces us immediately to Dreams Ends ability to set the scene. Something you could attribute to their evident adoration for the The Number Twelve Looks Like You.
Track 2, Texas Roadhouse Massacre leans towards the eccentric side of post-hardcore we saw in the early to mid 2000s where the immediacy and cowboy like riffs messily decorated with even more discords has you guessing when to start and stop dancing. It’s a sound akin to Fear Before The March of Flames mixed with the awkwardness and vulnerability of early screamo. They’re sound and style they’re chasing is accompanied well by how they’ve chosen to approach the recording and mixing process. It feels bare, it feels organic, its DIY. It’s immensely risky pushing such rawness in sound out into the world especially on your first EP but Dreams End whether it’s confidence, arrogance or just a case of trusting the process and believing those who get it find it and appreciate it, roll with it unapologetically to which some will adore and others will question whether this is truly for them.
Boxy Brown continuing with the samples forward approach opening with Conan’s “Newcasters Agree: who are you really buying for this holiday season” supercut that when only backed by studio filled laugh tracks sounds cheerful and light-hearted but this is a Dreams End track, we’ve learned their love for embodying the weird, awkward and borderline nihilistic energy they’re more than capable of harnessing can change that holiday spirit into something nightmarish.
The sample bookending the track with primetime TV laughter, the bass is the glue that holds Boxy Brown together. Unsettling and uncanny valley-esque, this track trades off the building of tension we’ve became familiar with for breakdowns that feel unnecessary and a little played out even after we’ve only just been introduced to them. It’s understandable for their first record to feature experimentation before honing in on what they do best but this is where the production style and chaotic time signatures go against them. The slower predictable pattern in the outro breakdown even when surrounded by shrill highs and dissonant leads pulls the band into a realm where their punchy sound isn’t given a chance to breathe.
Save Yourself gets us right back on track with the uncomfortable chaos this time provided in the form of question and answer “Save Yourself” vocal sections that see the vocals get increasingly desperate with each repetition. There’s influences of Converge melded with Norma Jean that channels the chaotic factor both of these bands thrived off of in their early days while keeping their hands firmly on the wheel. However here the hands on the wheel feel shaky and uncertain. Despite that, Save Yourself is the highlight of the EP, it’s short, it’s punchy and echoes what we were first introduced to of Dreams End in their opening track No Angel. The continuation we briefly lost during Boxy Brown.
Spectacularly named Mick Foley vs Mick Foley vs Mick Foley vs Mick Foley is a breath of fresh air in that it begins like a WWE Attitude era theme song before seeing us unexpectedly enter a 60s speakeasy moment with a soulful clean singing segment that oozes charm and decorum. Mick Foley x4 does what Boxy Brown wishes it could do with its ending. Discontent ambience that hits hard without compromising.
Second feature of No Angel comes from 2-piece Hitbox in the final track What I Hate The Most About You. Dreamscape drum n’ bass sampling from the get-go rifling into snare rolls and strong riffs, the pained cries questioning forgiveness, mercy and the fear of being perceived really show Dreams End in their best light yet. Save Yourself as the highlight feels more robust overall whereas What I Hate The Most About You feels like the lightning in a bottle you wish they found sooner.
No Angel is a solid foundation for them to build upon. A mirror cursed to reflect what they excel at and what they lack in. They’re in the fortunate position where their sound is so varied that it could see them on a multitude of line-ups from 50 caps bar basements to 500 cap rooms opening bigger bills. The spirit of scrappy DIY lives in them as they emulate an early mathcore infused post hardcore sound from the early 2000s and that in itself is a reason to keep them in your sights.
Catch them on the Paper Wings Records south showcase alongside Houses We Die In, Katywentmissing and A Winter’s Remorse on July 26th in Houston, TX.
FFO: At The Drive-In, Norma Jean, The Chariot, Fear Before The March of Flames
SCORE: 5/10
No Angel will be out on all streaming platforms on Friday 26th June, released independently.
