Dream State: Finding Comfort In Chaos

It’s a tale as old as time: one day you’re the next big thing, until the next big thing comes storming along. Like a bowl of Muesli, the industry hype machine chews bands up for breakfast. Some drift off into obscurity, others find new projects, whilst DREAM STATE are defying all odds, rising like a phoenix from the ashes to reclaim their position at the frontlines of Britain’s alternative scene.

2018’s Primrose Path shot them into the stratosphere, bringing home awards and storming major stages. The world was well and truly their oyster, until a global pandemic sent them back into their bedrooms. Soon after, vocalist CJ Gilpin and guitarist Rhys Wilcox called time on their tenures.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster, it’s been all over the place,” reflects guitarist and remaining original member Aled Evans, hunkered down in his home studio. “Lockdown happened and we lost all our momentum, and the guys’ mental health unfortunately deteriorated, and they had to leave the band, so now we’re just rebuilding, and trying to get that momentum back again.”

Building momentum back can be a lot like mending broken bones. Making the decision to soldier on through the trenches isn’t easy, either. Like angels and demons on his shoulders, Aled had a choice to make. “I love writing music, I love performing music, and I wasn’t ready to give up yet, so I was left with the choice of continuing the band or starting a new band,” admits Aled, who found the fate of his band falling into the hands of his girlfriend’s advice. “It was my girlfriend who said to me ‘when you’re older, you only regret the things you didn’t do’ so I thought I’d give it a go, try and carry the band, try and keep it going. If it works, great, and if it doesn’t work, then at least I’ve tried – I’ve always got the opportunity to start again if I wanted to. But I’m happy I’ve kept it going, I think we’re going to come back strong and the stuff we’ve got coming up is gonna prove that.”

Driven by his desire to make music, Aled rallied up the new recruits – bassist Jake Bowen, drummer Tom Connolly, and vocalist Jessie Powell – and knuckled down on crafting DREAM STATE 2.0. Armed with new EP Untethered, collecting new singles Taunt Me, Comfort In Chaos, and Chain Reactions, they’re ready to climb the mountain again. But with the band’s past haunting them, and no label behind them, surely they’re feeling the pressure?

“Being the replacement singer to someone who was really well received by their audience, and in her own right is an extraordinary vocalist and songwriter, I felt the pressure quite heavily,” says Jessie, who’s taken to the task of filling some big shoes like a duck to water. “We have nothing, we have no team behind us, so those pressures really started to build up but when Taunt Me dropped, I couldn’t have asked for a better response.”

Untethered is built for connecting on all levels. Firstly, it connects the band that bought you Primrose Path with it’s future. Whilst some fans “didn’t even notice it was a different singer”, Jessie feels she brings “a heavier element to DREAM STATE” with her vocals, born from her desire to “front a band like WHILE SHE SLEEPS if she could.” And for Aled, it allowed him to channel his inner A DAY TO REMEMBER.

“The three songs have different vibes; Taunt Me has the truest DREAM STATE vibes to the album, Comfort In Chaos is us trying a little heavier one and Chain Reactions is a poppier one, because I don’t believe in genres,” Aled explains. “A DAY TO REMEMBER said they couldn’t decide if they wanted to be a pop band or a metalcore band, so they became both, and this is the same thing.”

Untethered travels down the path DREAM STATE previously teased. Their metalcore is embellished with electrifying swathes of synth-pop, heaps of honey-soaked melodies, and a new-found heaviness that hits home. Some might say they’ve taken the meaning of being untethered too seriously, but for Jessie, it runs deeper than that.

“Untethered to me is breaking free from certain stresses and anxieties, it’s like a fresh start. The EP for me is about new beginnings, fresh starts, and releasing some of those demons that I’ve locked in for a while. It’s this sense of freedom, like I’ve been in this weird bubble for a long time of self-doubt, insecurities, and anxieties and it feels like a huge weight has been lifted being able to put these songs out there, to have closure with a lot of things, and just move forward, it’s like an inner peace to me.”

Whilst they’re setting the sights sky high, they’re also under no illusion that there’s one hell of a mountain to climb. But they’re willing to take their own Everest by storm. “We’ve all got full time jobs, we’ve all got lives outside of this, and we’re all giving it 110%, like I’ve never spent so many weekends away from home, happily, just writing again so we’re happy to take it as far as we can. But right now, we’re all DIY, we’re doing what we can with what we’ve got, like it’s mad the schedule for this year in terms of festivals, and shows, and tours considering we don’t have a team.”

“Imagine if we had a team where it could go, if we had the right people behind us, I think the world is our oyster; you get out what you put in and I think we’re all putting in so much that hopefully it’ll pay off for us all.”

Untethered is out now via self-release.

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