Progressive shoegaze postpunk outfit A Shoreline Dream present their new single “Melting”, hot on the trail of lead track “Seek To Hide”. Complete with aesthetically complementary videos shot and edited by Ryan Policky, these are the first tasters of their long-awaited Melting LP, to be released in late August via Latenight Weeknight Records. Set to a “modern tribal” shuffle beat, A Shoreline Dream continues to tease out new songs from their upcoming album after six long years. Both accessible and experimental, it’s part of the sonic ethos this team has been playing with for years: deconstruction and reconstruction, with an eye toward compelling songcraft and memorable, propulsive grooves.
A Shoreline Dream is Ryan Policky (vocals, guitar, keys, bass, production) and Erik Jeffries (guitar, backing vocals) with Chase Dobson also playing keys on this album. Hailing from the circus-birthing ground known as Barnum, Colorado, their sound combines lush melodic textures, organic instrumentation, and vocals layered like a synth, similar in vein to bands such as Ride, Dead Can Dance and Spiritualized – all mixed with a cavernous production style all their own.
“Our vibe tends to move darker, but lately and surprisingly it has been uptempo, yet still dark. I have always loved that. A sound that is super energetic but downright dreary. I think that is where we are. We’re pumped to get depressed, but also in ideas that were nearly all conceived on their first play-throughs. Emotion translated into tempos. Take the primal element of rhythm and build layers on top of it. Ours just happened to turn out the way they are here, and we were super excited how it came to be. Probably one of my favorite releases we’ve put out there,” says Ryan Policky. Written over the course of five months, the music on “Melting” not only summons the feeling of being lost-at-sea in a world burning ashore, but also dives into the need for a complete and unwavering change. Their new output features guitar tones ranging from lush layers to driven, post-rock arrangements woven behind Ryan’s evocative vocal stylings.
“I have always been in the mindset of good music is good music,” Policky said of the genre conundrum. “Good sound is good sound. So I’ve always tried to achieve that ‘perfect-for-me’ sound with each track we’ve done. Taking each element and making it fit just right. So when I think of these genres and such I don’t really know how to respond besides letting the people decide the categorized sound that we play. I myself think it’s a wash of moods all represented by an overall vibe. Our vibe tends to move darker, but lately and surprisingly it has been uptempo, yet still dark. I have always loved that. A sound that is super energetic but downright dreary. I think that is where we are. We’re pumped to get depressed, but also in ideas that were nearly all conceived on their first play-throughs. Emotion translated into tempos. Take the primal element of rhythm and build layers on top of it. Ours just happened to turn out the way they are here, and we were super excited how it came to be. Probably one of my favorite releases we’ve put out there!”
Over the past 14 years, ASD has churned out numerous acclaimed releases under their own imprint, Latenight Weeknight Records, while collaborating with legends such as Ulrich Schnauss, East Coast indie label mastermind Mark Kramer and, most recently, Engineers. They’ve toured with Ulrich Schnauss and were special guests for Chapterhouse on their final appearance in San Francisco.
This is the band’s first long-player since The Silent Sunrise LP in 2014, followed by a string of singles originally intended to make up their next album. However, with the world in social and political upheaval in 2020, Ryan Policky gained creative strength and determination through events around him, developing music consistent with the times, and possibly the most refined and heartfelt work the band has ever produced. Guitarist Erik Jeffries’ powerfully epic and post rock influenced guitar moments add to the emotion in output among the band’s best work to date. ”Working on Melting and collaborating during the writing and composing process was extremely rewarding. So when we started to put ideas together it seemed like new ideas were jumping out at me. And working with Ryan was fantastic. There was an openness to explore and no ideas or conversations were off limits. It really helped push me to be thoughtful (and critical) about what I was contributing and kept me very committed throughout the entire process,” says Erik Jeffries.
Melting will be released on August 7. On August 21, the Melting LP will be available everywhere digitally, including Spotify. It can already be pre-ordered via Bandcamp.
Keep up with A Shoreline Dream via their website, Bandcamp, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
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