An indie music PR company’s dream, the East London band first came to be after its two founding members hit it off whilst working in the same vintage clothes shop. The ramshackle-retro, lovably tatty charm of your average boutique is as good a parallel as any to describe the sound of this, their latest EP (brought to us by Tough Love, a label who’s name is somewhat ironic, given its canny knack of procuring bands that are very, very easy to love.)
Shimmering, '80s-era indie guitars are perhaps Weird Dreams’ (and, alas, many other bands’) defining characteristic, but the quality of the songwriting and their other, distinct features – most notably lead singer Doran Edwards’ vocals - does some help to elevate the songs above a fixed point in time.
'Holding Nails' is the strongest song of the bunch, with glossy guitar notes and pining melodies that wrap a warm blanket around the song. Better still, a shadowy motif underlies the lyrics, adding a gratifying sense of disquiet to the harmonies. There’s no resting on the winsome laurels of the song’s first three quarters, either, as a climatic riff gatecrashes proceedings but manages to blend in seamlessly.
The punk-lineage on ‘Where’d I Go Wrong’ means it’s a bit of an oxymoron - part jarring, abrasive guitar stabs and part sweet, gooey harmonies. Plenty of whammy-bar action acts as a bridge between the two though, connecting the song’s shaky foundations.
‘The Stranger’, meanwhile, is a spirited acoustic ditty recorded in a bandmate’s house, and it evokes all the naïve, carefree DIY charisma you could hope for. Plus, Doran Edwards is no slouch when it comes to flaunting his unblemished singing voice, which flawlessly hop-scotches about the place, a constant, untainted treat.
Weird Dreams will certainly have learnt a trick or two from Stephen Malkmus - surely any guitar band’s ideal mentor - after supporting the Pavement man on his tour of Europe this year. And by encapsulating their own woozy appeal, the three songs here do more than enough to whet appetites ahead of their debut LP, out next year.