6/5/2023 0 Comments The dream syndicate![]() ![]() ‘Ultraviolet Battle Hymns …’, the band’s first for long-standing UK indie Fire Records, is a more concise work, dispensing with the long grooves instead focussing on the band’s melodic strengths blending vintage Krautrock, Eno-like ambience and Neu-inspired rhythmic groove.Īs 2023 dawns, with their new label’s support, the band are preparing for what, remarkably, will be their first ever proper UK tour. And I think that that shows on the record, there are some dark songs but it’s kind of a pretty lively, upbeat record.” “It was so exciting because we were just happy to be hanging out together. “We went in in the middle of 2021, so in the thick of the pandemic, and got together and had the greatest time, just kind of writing the songs that ended up on ‘Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions.’ Is it going to be a year? Two years? The rest of our lives? So, finding a way we could play music together and connect with people all around the world was really great.”įortunately, everyone’s worst fears were not realised and, as COVID restrictions eased, the band were able to return to the studio for the first time in a couple of years. “At the time, we didn’t know how long it would be. It’s so much part of our lives and the prospect of not having that was kind of sad. ![]() “Incredibly, I mean, they kept us going because we both tour and play music so often. The Dream Syndicate were on hold but Steve found a way to continue performing through two runs of online shows, usually accompanied by his wife Linda Pitmon on percussion, and he acknowledges how important these shows were. During 2020, I actually made a list of all the things that had happened to find some consolation, thinking if we never leave our houses again then at least I had a fun year.” “But I look back on 2019 and, man, that was probably my most productive year and more exciting things happened with all my different projects. “We were all frustrated by suddenly having putting the brakes on everything, like every person in the world. ![]() In those circumstances singer/guitarist/songwriter Steve Wynn found some solace in what the band had managed to achieve before the pandemic hit. ‘The Universe Inside’ was released in May 2020 but plans to tour the record had to be scrapped during a period of great uncertainty for all full-time musicians. However, the band’s progress was at risk of being derailed as the pandemic hit. ‘Universe’ was completely different to what had gone before, an hour-long record with just five songs which had originated in an unplanned late-night jam session during the sessions for ‘These Times’. It’s one of the best (yet most under-rated) rock records of the 21st century.Ī further album ‘These Times’ followed in 2019 taking the band in a more overtly psychedelic direction, a journey which culminated in the next record, ‘The Universe Inside’. Unshackled from any record company pressures, HDIFMH was a glorious statement of intent incorporating crunching guitars and drones into the songs and even elements of funk and jazz into the epic title track. Reforming in 2012 initially to play shows and have some fun, contrary to their own expectations, four years of touring the old songs led to a new album, 2017’s ‘How Did I Find Myself Here’. The Dream Syndicate hit Glasgow in March for two shows at the Hug & Pint, their first ever in Scotland, as part of a ten date UK tour.Ĭoming to prominence in the early 1980s as part of L.A.’s Paisley Underground scene, despite four well received albums, the band were gradually ground down by the machinations of the 80s record industry, splitting in 1989. ![]()
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