EP Review: Dream State - Untethered

For some of us, a band's personality is often intertwined with their singer. It's the human voice that conveys the most emotion, that tells the stories, and that can't be replicated by a producer manning the boards. Whatever style of music you pick, you can find the gear to replicate the sound of the guitars and drums, but finding a singer who can evoke the same feelings from the audience is something far harder, if not impossible.

Dream State is going through that process here, as this EP is the introduction of a new lineup. CJ's singing and screaming, complete with hints of her English accent, were such an integral part of their sound, I must confess to being worried what the future of the band was going to be. Their "Recovery" EP and "Primrose Path" album were both fantastic, but it wasn't the instrumental parts that won me over the most.

This new EP is both reassuring, and disappointing. Let's start with the good side first.

Dream State comes out of the gates in this new era hitting hard. Their post-hardcore is still heavy and aggressive, with pulsing rhythms full of energy. The writing is tight, and new vocalist Jessie Powell does an admirable job on both fronts. The songs are still catchy bangers that get better the more you listen to them. They are able to perfectly balance their hardcore tendencies with more melodic parts, both challenging and satisfying those of us who don't share their same roots.

But for every satisfaction there is a disappointment. Or two of them, in this case. One of those being that this is just a three-song EP, which even for this kind of release doesn't feel like enough. To reintroduce the band, this bite-size offering is barely bite-sized. The other disappointment is that while Jessie is indeed a very good vocalist, she isn't CJ. The band is cleaner and more polished than ever, and it's the rough edges I find myself missing the most. There was something charming about their previous sound, where it felt like a reflection of the mental battles the songs were addressing.

This EP is, oddly, too perfect. The playing, the production, and the vocals are nearly flawless, but because of that they don't have as much feeling in them. At least not to my ears. So while Dream State shows they have plenty of life left in them, and they're going to keep making good music, I'm going to have to wait to see if that spark returns. I miss it.