Dream State are a Welsh rock band from South Wales formed in 2014. They signed to Australian record label UNFD in 2017 and have released two

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(their debut ''Consequences'' in 2015 and ''Recovery'' in 2018) as well as a studio album ''

Primrose Path Primrose Path or The Primrose Path may refer to: *Original quote from Hamlet I, iii, by William Shakespeare * ''The Primrose Path'' (Stoker novel), an 1875 novel by Bram Stoker *''The Primrose Path'', a 1915 play by Bayard Veiller *''The Primrose P ...

''. The band currently consists of guitarist Aled Evans, along with bassist Jake Bowen, drummer Tom Connolly and vocalist Jessie Powell.

History

Formation and ''Consequences''

Dream State was formed in South Wales, UK, in 2014 by vocalist CJ Gilpin, guitarists Aled Evans and Sam Harrison-Little, bassist Danny Rayer and drummer Jamie Lee. They released their first single, "Burn Them Down", on 8 January 2015. Later that year, on 20 November, they released their first EP ''Consequences'', which was recorded at The Boneyard Studio in South Wales.

Line-up change, UNFD and ''Recovery''

In March 2017 the band released their single "White Lies". That summer they had their first festival appearance at Reading and Leeds Festivals. It was later announced, that Dream State had signed to independent record label UNFD at the festival. 2017 also saw a change in line-up. Sam Harrison-Little left the band to spend more time with his family and was replaced by Rhys Wilcox. On 18 May 2018, the band's second EP ''Recovery'' was released through UNFD. Dream State is featured on the 2018 compilation album '' Songs That Saved My Life'' in aid of mental health and suicide prevention charities. For the compilation, the band recorded a cover of

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and dr ...

's " Crawling".

''Primrose Path'' and departure of Danny Rayer

On 6 March 2019, Dream State released the single "Hand in Hand". The band released their single "Primrose" on 10 July 2019. It is their first release after the departure of bassist Danny Rayer, who "has decided to focus his time on his wonderful family." On 20 August 2019, the band released their single "Open Windows" and also announced that their debut album ''

'', produced by

Dan Weller Dan Weller (born 3 April 1980) is a producer/mixer/writer and guitarist, known for his work in rock and metal. He was born in Liverpool and moved to Hertfordshire at age 6. At 15 he began playing guitar and formed a band with school friends. Tha ...

, would be released on 18 October 2019. Dream State released their single "Twenty Letters" on 8 October 2019, a day after its premiere on Annie Mac's ''Radio 1's Future Sounds'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

. On 18 October 2019 their debut album ''Primrose Path'' was released and opened on position 100 in the official

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. ''

Loudwire ''Loudwire'' is an American online media magazine that covers news of hard rock and heavy metal artists. It is owned by media and entertainment business Townsquare Media. Since its launch in August of 2011, ''Loudwire'' has secured exclusive ...

'' named it one of the 50 best rock albums of 2019. Following the release, the band went on a UK headliner tour beginning on 27 October 2019 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

and went on to support Being as an Ocean on their tour through Europe afterwards. In the beginning of 2020, Dream State supported I Prevail on their Europe tour. The final leg of the tour had to be postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. Dream State released their music video for "Are You Ready To Live?" on 24 June 2020. The video features clips sent in by fans as well as live footage of the band. On 28 October 2020 the band released their single "Monsters". Two days later, Dream State announced the amicable departure of drummer Jamie Lee.

Departure of CJ and Rhys, new lineup

On 24 February 2022 a statement from guitarist Aled Evans was posted on the bands social media, announcing that CJ Gilpin and Rhys Wilcox have left the band. It was also revealed that the band had brought in a new drummer and a new bassist, which was unnamed during that time. The new lineup has been unveiled on 14 October 2022 through their social media accounts, bassist Jake Bowen, drummer Tom Connolly and vocalist Jessie Powell were introduced as the new members. Along with the new lineup, the band released a new song and music video for "Taunt Me".

Musical style and influences

Dream State's musical style has mostly been described as

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has bee ...

and

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

. Jake Richardson of ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' wrote about the band's sound: "It can loosely be described as post-hardcore, but the quintet throw in elements of math-rock, metal and punk and impress at every point." Slipknot,

Tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

and

have been cited as some of the band's influences.

Members

Current * Jessie Powell – lead vocals (2022–present) * Aled Evans – lead guitar (2014–present), rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2022-present) * Jake Bowen – bass guitar, backing vocals (2021–present) * Tom Connolly – drums (2021–present) Former * Sam Harrison-Little – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2014–2017) * Danny Rayer – bass guitar (2014–2019) * Jamie Lee – drums (2014–2020) * Charlotte-Jayne "CJ" Gilpin – lead vocals (2014–2021) * Rhys Wilcox – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2017–2021)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Compilation appearances

* '' Songs That Saved My Life'' (2018) – " Crawling" (originally performed by

)

Music videos

Awards

Kerrang! Awards , - , 2018 , , Dream State, , , Best British Breakthrough , , Heavy Music Awards , - , 2019 , , Dream State, , , Best UK Breakthrough Band , ,

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website
British post-hardcore musical groups Kerrang! Awards winners Musical groups established in 2014 Musical quintets Welsh alternative rock groups 2014 establishments in Wales