Velveteen have been regulars on my turntable for a few years now. I had one of those proper fixations with Empty Crush when it came out in 2022. It had that mixture I always fall for, insane gazey guitars, vocals tucked into the noise, and songs with a nineties sheen. The band are back with their new EP My Dreams Are Changing and I’m getting ready to obsess again.
Lets’ rewind for minute in case this is a new band for you. Velveteen are Drew Younger on guitars and vocals, David Thomson on guitars, Patrick Malins on bass and James Nolan on drums and vocals. Across earlier releases Bluest Sunshine in 2020 and Empty Crush in 2022, they worked their way into a sound where shoegaze, noise rock, dream pop and post punk all shared the same grooves on their records. After a brief time away from the scene, they returned to the studio in last year and came back with My Dreams Are Changing, a six track EP. Written and recorded collectively by the band, it feels like a record made by four people who worship at the altar of gaze. Let’s drop the needle and soak in the beautiful noise.
The title track, ‘My Dreams Are Changing’, opens the EP with guitars that arrive with real impact. They do that glorious shoegaze thing where the chords seem to bloom and continue to evolve and grow, filling the room. The vocals sit deep in the mix, less a lead line above the band and more a figure half seen through moving distortion. As it should be. Malins keeps the low end steady, giving the song a spine while the guitars stretch outward. Nolan’s drumming has enough force to push through the haze without flattening the feeling around it. As an opener, it sets out the EP’s whole intent with confidence.
‘Shoot Me Down’ comes in with a sharper noise rock bite at the front of the song. The guitars feel more serrated here, less washed out and more intent on leaving marks. There is a wiry poppy early MBV quality in the way the guitar strings seem to counter the rhythm, as if the song is trying to shake itself loose while the drums keep it locked in and on target. The vocal is more prominent here and the song really benefits from it. The have a great ear for a pop song but still are able to swathe it in noise.
By the time ‘Another Somewhere’ arrives, the EP opens out into its longest piece, and the extra space suits them. It allows the band to really build that feeling of, oh I don’t know how to describe it. It’s that comfort you feel in the overwhelm, swathed in the wall of sound. I love the high-end trilling going on, reminds me of Pinkshinyultrablast in places. (High praise indeed). This is without doubt my stand out track and for that matter, one the best songs I’ve heard this year.
Up next ‘A Fool’s Paradise’ brings spoken word to the party. The guitars sound like a rushing waterfall. They absolutely pummel the senses. The gentleness of the poetry contrasts beautifully against it, like the light glinting on the spray. The bass has an almost metallic flavour at times which cuts through and gives your ear another texture to enjoy.
‘Unanswered’ sits in the aftermath of that rush and band turn to another influence. They reference Robin Guthries guitar and Simon Raymondes bass playing beautifully. It’s so great to hear that sound in a new setting. The vocal hook in this one is dynamite and grabs me every time. The closing section changes things up and leaves us wanting more.
The closing track, ‘Untitled 103’, gives very little away from its name, which makes it a neat ending for a record so concerned with buried feeling and shifting shapes. The guitars are thick enough to feel almost physical, yet little melodic fragments keep appearing through the crush. The drums give the piece a final sense of lift, while the bass keeps it from floating away into pure noise. It pulses along steadily almost like the band are floating out to sea from shore on gentle waves of distortion.
By the end of My Dreams Are Changing, I’m right back in that familiar Velveteen headspace and the whole thing makes me want to flip the record over as soon as it ends. Sure, this EP carries the DNA of Empty Crush, with those huge gazey guitars, buried vocals and nineties glow still firmly in place, yet there is a stronger sense of purpose running through these six songs. ‘Another Somewhere’ gives us the big centrepiece, ‘A Fool’s Paradise’ brings spoken word and beautiful sensory overload, and ‘Unanswered’ nods lovingly towards the dreamier end of the shoegaze family tree. Velveteen have returned with a record that feels physical, loud, strangely tender and completely ready to take over your turntable. I was getting ready to obsess again at the start of this EP, and by the end those dreams had changed into plans.
My Dreams Are Changing is out now on vinyl via Noon Records. You can check it out over on the Velveteen Bandcamp page.
You can follow Velveteen on social media here…
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