If you’ve ever picked up a copy of Vice magazine, you might imagine one of their launch parties as a wild scene of hedonistic indulgence and lewd debauchery with only the coolest, most up-to-date socialites there to pose for it. Tonight however, on a cold January evening in Leeds, the audience seem distinctly (and disappointingly) normal. Headlining tonight’s party is East London band Weird Dreams, fresh from releasing their third three track EP on Tough Love records this November.
Opening the set tonight is the bright and breezy ‘Hurt So Bad’, a track that sees singer Doran Edwards engage in full-on swooning mode, looking tenderly innocent and angelic as he sings, “I love it when you hurt me so bad,” over reverb heavy guitars and a pounding drum rhythm. Although the band plays tightly, the acoustics of the venue do little to help the subtle nuances of the harmonies as everything comes over a little too harsh, sounding more like a broken tapestry of musical parts than a polished definite article.
‘Where’d I Go Wrong’ follows, complete with lush falsetto ‘oohs’ and spiky guitar riffs that are part surf-pop, part post-punk and overall wholly danceable. It’s a short and sharp song that sees the audience warm to the band, and their tightly knit performance, before the band's stand-out track ‘Holding Nails’ to be aired. On record, the track is a lush arrangement of shape-shifting, intertwining guitar riffs and layered vocal harmonies that build to a swaying and uplifting chorus. However, live, the band fail to recapture the hypnotic journey that the listener is taken on through the recorded version as the sugar-coated sounds are just not there on stage. Whether it’s an overly dominant bass drum eclipsing the rest of the song, or the fact that Edwards just fails to reach the high notes on the chorus, the band unfortunately fail to pull it off.
Despite these problems, the band recover with their last two songs, ‘Choreography’ and ‘Little Girl’, the former ending in an extended chorus which sees the words “weird dreams” soaring through the venue just to make sure we remember what their name is. It is a mixed show with some tracks sounding neat, polished, and in-sync, with others falling down from the technical hindrances. Although it is not a complete success, Weird Dreams do enough to create intrigue amongst the audience from their six-song set, as their floating melodies continue to resonate in the minds of the crowd.