I knew I was in for an adventure when I looked at the track list for The Dream Eaters’ We Are the Curse and found a track titled “Astral Asshole.”

The group has roots in Brooklyn, Boston, and Vancouver Island, BC. So each band member carries a bit of that grey weather into the music. Being seaside helps too.

That snarkily titled single I referred to just now? It’s actually pretty dang chill. Given the vibe of the song versus the overall vibe of the album, I’m surprised the band chose it as their single. It’s easy to listen to it in passing, and perhaps even fall asleep to it. It’s only when you start paying attention that you realize that the song could be taken as being a bit sarcastic.

“Astral Asshole” aside though, I respect the crap of out of this band, because it seems to me that their mission is to take preconceived notions of dream pop and turn them upside down. The album begins with a lot of punch and transitions into acoustic guitar driven songs that produce a floating effect. The ironically titled single included. In some ways, I feel that I’m listening to two different bands when comparing the first three songs to the last seven. Album closer “Brazil Song” is a highlight of the chill majority, coming across as a lullaby the most of its counterparts. It’s a fitting juxtaposition to the aggressive beginning to the album.

Speaking of the aggressive portions, I’d like to hear the group expand upon the sound heard in tracks 1-3 more. My favorite of the three is probably “Neanderthals.” Upon listening to that song I was prepped in my mind to craft this review around a thesis of “it’s okay to be aggressive in dreamy songs,” a theme that I still think the band could pursue down the road. I feel like they’re still finding themselves. But that’s okay. If I didn’t hear something promising I wouldn’t be telling you all about this right now.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/307210758″/]

Score: 3.7/5

The Dream Eaters: Facebook | bandcamp