Haunt - Dreamers (2024)

★★

First things first, I want to state that Trevor William Church is a very talented musician. That being said, his music is just… so cookie-cutter. I remember finding Haunt and really enjoying their first couple of records, but with each new year and sometimes multiple new full-lengths per year, Trevor’s inclination to put some effort into his music seems to have diminished greatly. So, what’s different about this one? Well, not much – if we’re basing it off the seven mediocre records that precede it. It has the same sort of elevated guitar wizardry we’ve seen on all Haunt releases, but in exchange for some stale melodies, we get a noticeable lack of riffs! The rhythm work is solid, and I actually enjoy the more straightforward drumming, but with the lack of heft by having a low bass mix, we really just end up hearing a frontloaded production soaked by vocals and guitars. Trevor is a more than competent singer, but this sometimes means sacrificing the actual music for a more polished vocal sound. It’s not all bad though; there are some insane lead guitar passages and to be totally transparent, a really solid cover of the 1983 new wave song “Send Me an Angel” by Real Life. It’s a palatable single listen, but I don’t think I’ll be revisiting it.

FAVORITE TRACKS: "Locked Out," "Send Me an Angel"

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Originally published in March '24 (Issue No. 2)