The cathartic Are You Ready To Live rams the point home, a song that’s all Bring Me The Horizon-ish helpings of modern, mosh-ready, electro-infused mania, while the rave-rock of Primrose is a soaring anthem born to be blared out at rock clubs. The music on this album is dark, brooding and at times deceptively heavy, but by embracing modern sounds and being open to new ideas, Dream State have created a record that’s perfect for 2019’s genre-blurring and playlist-hopping.
It’s against this brilliant musical backdrop that Dream State reveal their true heart, though. Throughout Primrose Path’s 10 songs, CJ delivers the kind of lyrics and vocal performances that come from somewhere genuine and real. Hand In Hand is a psychological rapture that sees the singer confess ‘I just wanna make it all stop’, while Twenty Letters is the sound of someone clinging on when it feels like the world is pushing them over the edge, bringing an uncomfortable edge to proceedings. Despite her worries, though, CJ provides a performance of such heart and fight as to offer genuine hope to those who hear her words and know of what she speaks. Primrose Path is a story of one person’s battle to survive life’s darkest moments, and it’s presented in a way that is as emotionally devastating as it is relatable.
A record for the downtrodden and the despairing, what Dream State have here is a shining light pulled from the depths of darkness. In the process, they’ve also happened to make, quite simply, one of the best British debut albums of the year. Now watch them fly.
Verdict: 4/5