Establishing the mood with an immersive bassline and textured percussion elements with cerebral nuances, røamr opens Terrible Dreams with brooding vocals that detail his lived experience, with the title of the track, Terrible Dreams.
There is a futuristic and cinematic dark-Americana vibe at play here, and we are enthralled. We appreciate the poetic prowess that manifests, but there is also no doubt that Terrible Dreams would be perfect for a movie soundtrack, perhaps a psychological thriller, or a TV show like True Blood and the upcoming reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The ebbs and flows are sublime, the main guitar pulls out where røamr shares his soul with a minimal bassline and some intricate percussion, rebuilding with soft, pounding drums which further add to the dimensionality and intrigue of the concept of the song.
The song floats and is very danceable, perfect for a rock concert venue, and we can imagine this being incredible to experience live. There is also a cerebral sensuality that manifests in this way. The lyrics, “Terrible dreams…truth is broken…” also feel highly zeitgeist and bigger than a personal reflection, as truly this is also a commentary on our shared reality and the current socio-political landscape that we are co-existing in.
The emergence of a breathy synth adds further drama to the song in the final expression of Terrible Dreams, which finishes with a stripped-back moment before a dramatic reprise of the pounding drums and detailed guitar riff, creating an almost full-circle moment that leaves us yearning for more.
We learn that røamr originates from Wagrain, Austria and is an artist focused on cinematic organic house music that is designed to tell a story from beginning to end. Naturally, Terrible Dreams is inspired by røamr’s own struggles with nightmares and the collective fears that many people share.
We are in awe, and have added Terrible Dreams to our New Music Spotlight playlist, and our TIMELESS and TRIPPY playlists, whilst we continue to stream the wider discography of røamr, including Morningstar, and Stay Low.