They’re here, flickering in the dark
Black fires conceived without a spark
Cold feathers flutter against your skin
Not the end, but it is where you will begin
Dream Bodies, the twilight-touched project from Steven Fleet (Magic Wands, Night Nail, VV and the Void), plunges into shadowed spheres with Circle of Light, a five-track EP draped in dreamy darkness and cosmic revelation. Fleet steers through night-veiled landscapes, evoking the austere Gothic rock elegance of The Sisters of Mercy, the melodic shimmer of The Chameleons, and the ethereal echoes of dream pop luminaries Cocteau Twins. Yet, the music sets a distinct mood, one that is heavy with occult overtones and an otherworldly allure all its own.
Opening with the ambient invocation of Blood Moon, the EP immediately envelops us in a ghostly fog of reverberations and hushed expectation. From there, the title track takes hold, drifting along an otherworldly axis reminiscent of Joy Division’s bleak, melancholic dirges, as seen in side two of Closer. This is laced with ghostly traces of David Sylvian’s Japan-funk lighting up the dark, along with fluttering guitars reminiscent of those by Reg Smithies of the Chameleons. The song’s vocals are echoes from distant chambers, where lush guitars chime mysteriously, and hypnotic synths twist through time and space. The track vividly portrays a ritualistic transformation: a solitary communion between realms of mortality and transcendence, human fragility reframed against celestial forces.
Eclipse pulses forward with agile drumming and psychedelically-inflected guitar swirls, recalling early Clan of Xymox, as synth melodies ascend into prog-inflected peaks. Its relentless momentum propels us through desolate avenues beneath a starry expanse, summoning sensations both lunar-lit and exhilaratingly kinetic.
Don’t Look Back, initially conceived during Dexy Valentine’s Starlit Motel sessions, resurfaces here refreshed by Fleet’s vibrant synth arrangements and shimmering guitar accents. The insistent rhythm section pushes onward with motorik steadiness, as vocals float with monastic elegance, suggesting the majestic isolation of Echo & the Bunnymen crossed with Sad Lovers and Giants’ cool grandeur. This track journeys through realms of loss toward hopeful futures written in astral script. Finally, Dream Hangover layers kaleidoscopic guitars over echoes of Simple Minds and Teardrop Explodes, closing the record in shadowy beauty…an addictive, otherworldly reverie from which waking feels unnecessary.
Listen to Circle of Light below and order the album here.
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