You know that feeling when a band releases a new single and you expect the usual: some decent riffs, a chorus, maybe a third verse that overstays its welcome, and then it actually slaps? That’s Dreams, the latest release from Liverpool’s own RISE, a band that seems dead-set on weaponizing emotional sincerity and melodic hooks like it’s a revolutionary act.
Right out of the gate, Dreams doesn’t waste time trying to impress you with subtlety. It’s big, it’s bold, it’s the musical equivalent of staring directly at a vision board and actually believing it. The track was recorded at Whitewood Studios with producer Rob Whiteley, who somehow managed to bottle the essence of late-night existential dread and channel it through a very clean guitar tone.
Lyrically, it’s about ambition; about having dreams, plans, whatever keeps you going and realizing, “oh right, no one actually gave us a manual for any of this.” And yet, somehow, it’s upbeat. RISE pull off that rare alchemy of being emotionally resonant without ever dipping into self-pity. They’re not wallowing. They’re rallying.
The production is tight, the instrumentation drives forward like it’s late for something important, and the whole thing is wrapped in this unmistakable RISE-ness: a blend of synths and guitars that sounds like someone handed an arena-rock band a telescope and said, “Now feel something.”
If this were a lesser song, it’d be content just vibing in the background of a BBC Three drama. But it’s not. Dreams by RISE is the kind of track that demands headphones, a long walk, and at least one dramatic stare into the middle distance. This isn’t just a promising single. Rather, it’s a shout from the rooftops that RISE know exactly who they are, even if the rest of us are still fumbling for the map.
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About the Author
A tenured media critic known working as a ghost writer, freelance critic for publications in the US and former lead writer of Atop The Treehouse. Reviews music, film and TV shows for media aggregators.
