The Dream Eaters

Here at Overblown we love music that is emotive but subtle, and sweet harmonies. On their debut album We Are A Curse, Brooklyn’s dream pop duo The Dream Eaters can do both with absolute aplomb. The vocals of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron interweave with such perfection it is as if they emanate from the same body.

On top of this, the duo have a knack for knocking out a chorus that seems familiar without being trite, and to imbue their laid back dream pop sound with a gentle fist in the air soar.

Luckily, we had the chance to chat with the band about We Are A Curse. Expect some politics, struggles to hold on to reality, and the mechanics of relationships.

Dead on the Inside

We felt like we were taking a bit of a risk putting this song as the opening track, because it's so moody and it builds so gradually. It's about feeling lost, and we knew that a lot of people would be feeling that way in the wake of the 2016 election with all the nationalism going on in the US and Europe.

Neanderthals

This song wasn't originally supposed to go on this album; another version of it was recorded for a different project at the end of the Bush/Cheney administration and it suddenly seemed to be once again all too relevant. A few of the lyrics were rewritten and there were some other changes made to update it, and now it's very hard for me to imagine the album without it. It's again about wading through the aftermath of a disaster. But it has a bit more of a positive spin than Dead on the Inside in the chorus, a sort of "we're not going to let them get us down" anthemic feeling.

Dots

Dots is meant to comfort a depressed friend. It's the most personal song on the album for me. It's a very emotional song for us to play live, we don't do it very often, (it's also little too quiet to pull off in loud clubs.)

Astral Asshole

This is again about a feeling of being out at sea, of looking back at how things unfolded and wondering how things got away from you. I'm quite a bit older than Elizabeth, and I often feel like the ancient astronaut who keeps floating further away from reality. As the song builds at the end, it sounds sort of like you're being sucked into a void.

Sugar Coma

Sugar Coma is a plea to a lover for comfort. I'm very pessimistic and I constantly think the world is about to end, so sometimes you need someone to tell you it's all going to be alright. I know most people probably wouldn't find this lyric funny, but I think it's so overwrought that it's almost comical. But hopefully not in a way that minimizes it.

So Heavy

The lyrics of So Heavy were co-written by my friend Julien Levy. He has a similar bleak take on things. The song is about trading one pain, the pain of not being loved, for another - the pain caused by the mechanics of relationships.

Almost Afraid

This lyric was written completely by Julien. I think I had asked him for something surreal, and he came back with this, which fits perfectly. There's so many lines I really love in this song - "at the edge of sleep like a fading star/like a stillborn heart". It means something to me that I'm not even sure Julien intended; I think of it as dragging a lover to enter into a quagmire with you.

Plastic Priestess

Plastic Priestess was written about a downstairs neighbor I had - she could be very sweet but she'd often get drunk and go out to the sidewalk and start yelling at people and she was very pious. She was a great example of the kind of rampant evangelism that requires everyone else to not do the very thing that she was always doing. She was by far the loudest person on the block and she was constantly complaining about how much noise everyone else was making. The "keeping thoughts that are killing you inside your head" is about that type of repression leads some people to hurt themselves and become alcoholics and addicts.

We Are A Curse

This song was originally meant to be the opening track; the opening salvo - it's about feeling like we always do the wrong things when it would be much easier and much less harmful to do the right things.

Brazil Song

This is another Julien lyric, it's this feeling that a lot of people have after a breakup, where, in their heartache, they imagine the other person living a fairy tale existence. In this case his lover has gone off to live in Brazil while he feels trapped in a dark place - "find the rising sun/leave me where there's none/you have found your way to summer's endless day". - Overblown (UK)

“Neanderthals” is a beautiful piece of songwriting and production from The Dream Eaters, the project of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron (foermly known as ‘Jake and Elizabeth’). Both share vocal duties on this track, in addition to the anthemic choir effect to the chorus, which lends a nice element to the already-soaring hook. With polished production emphasizing the eclectic nature of quality chamber-pop, from the twinkling choir around 02:40 to the infectious percussive stuttering effect in the first verses, “Neanderthals” is an impressive project from a quickly rising duo with heaps of potential. - Obscure Sound

Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron met in Brooklyn while bartenders at the same locale, and shortly after began collaborating. After a slew of EP’s under their own names, they further defined their sound and The Dream Eaters was born. Following last year’s debut EP, Five Little Pills, the duo have returned with their debut album which features Dead on the Inside.

A simple acoustic guitar strum and LeBaron’s breathy vocals kick off the single and are soon joined by a dream-pop wall of sound as she sings, “Ever more sour/ Slowly losing power/ Sinking ever downward/ Gasping for air.” A rapturous swell of reverb gradually builds with haunting harmonies that float in your cavernous shell, lost amongst the bitter howl of your insecurities and swept with the flowing veil of darkness.

Listen to Dead on the Inside right here, followed by The Dream Eater’s We Are A Curse. - ohestee (Toronto)

Interesting twinbill tonight, Dec 16 starting at 9 PM at Pete’s Candy Store. Bad Galaxy, who mine a sardonic folk noir vein, open for the similarly cynical, wryly surreal Dream Eaters, who play their distantly Lynchian quasi new wave at 10.

Ironically – in the true sense of the word – the Dream Eaters’ best song is the one that’s not on their album We Are a Curse, streaming at Bandcamp. That number is the woozily spot-on Klonopin Girl. But it’s a good prototype for the album tracks. “Back in the wasteland, sinking in the quicksand,” frontwoman Elizabeth LeBaron intones in a phenobarbitol murmur as Dead on the Inside begins. But then her voice rises to the rafters as the song grows from Jake Zavracky’s steady, staccato guitar strum to anthemic Julee Cruise territory. “I get so fried, trying to get through,” LeBaron wails.

With acoustic guitar, drum machine and enveloping vintage lo-fi synth textures, the calmly stomping Neanderthals follows the same template. “Keep the vermin out,” LeBaron instructs,” They won’t make us crawl, they’re all neanderthals.”

Dots is much the same: steady acoustic fingerpicking sparkles against deep-space ambience and LeBaron’s girl-down-the-well vocals. As you’ve figured out by now, the songs titles are dead giveaways. Astral Asshole and Sugar Coma share druggy outer-space metaphors and melancholy DollHouse harmonies. Almost Afraid, with its dreamy death imagery and understated front-porch folk guitar, brings back fond memories of late zeros Williamsburg cinephiles the Quavers. But Plastic Princess, which would be straight-up new wave at twice the speed, isn’t a dis: it’s a cautionary tale about the perils of conformity.

“Let me be your albatross,” LeBaron intones over a slow, stately chamber pop backdrop in So Heavy. With its grisly images, is the album’s languid title track a condemnation of Brooklyn gentrifier anomie? That’s open to debate. A final, fingerpicked lament, Brazil Song, is about as Brazilian as the Brazilian Girls. Some people might catch a few bars of this and dismiss it as wannabe Lana Del Rey faux-noir. But if sad, drifty music infused with gallows humor is your thing, stick with it. - New York Music Daily

"Everybody bears a cross, a heavy load to haul around. Let me be your albatross," folk-pop duo The Dream Eaters unload about the weight of an unsettling world and the universality of pain--on "So Heavy," a melancholic downtempo brimming with billowing harmonies. Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron, who first met when both were bartenders in a Brooklyn dive bar, open their debut full-length with another glum observation: "Sinking ever downward, gasping for air, dead on the inside, stepping on landmines." We are a Curse towers with 10 tracks, on which the duo needle together reflections on self-loathing, navigating a swampy sea of complicated relationships and feeling the life forces morphing at their fingertips. "If you can't feel moonlight, I won't convince you it's real. Rivers winding in Brazil," they relay on their moody bookend, "Brazil Song."

And when they unleash the title cut, their message is evident: they hold themselves accountable for the things they've seen, the things they've done. "We suck young blood, leaving the bodies strewn on the ground," LeBaron and Zavracky spit on the opening lyric, surrounding the listener first with cloying atmosphere and then with a wall-to-wall wave of sound. "We are the curse. We are the worst," they later chant over layers of a rollicking marching band-like drum line, thick guitar and other synthetic accompaniment. Having formed back in 2015, they cemented their sound and approach with 2016's debut extended play, Five Little Pills, but they are finally now coming into their own, borrowing of new wave and synth-pop of the late '80s and early '90s.

Says Zavracky on how the album came together, "Even though we recorded We Are A Curse in about three months, it felt like it was years in the making; some of the songs are more than a few years old but arranging them for both of our vocals gave them new life. We probably demoed something like 75 songs in trying to get down to the ones that meant the most to us, which are the 10 that are on the album, and many of the songs that we ended up with were re-recorded 10 times over."

That extensive outpouring of blood, sweat and tears drenches the entire studio record. From "Neanderthals" to the acoustic swelling of "Dots" and the gritty echo of "Plastic Priestess," LeBaron and Zavracky chronicle chapters of their lives with fraught intensity. There is an unshakable sorrow adorning their vocals, but they remain luscious and sticky. Tightly knit harmonies characterize nearly every track--allowing them to utterly inhabit a ghostly world of varied human sentiments and encounters. "Sugar coma leaves me blind, sinking into that midnight," they coo on the lullaby-reminiscent "Sugar Coma," a particularly engrossing moment. Then, on "Almost Afraid," tinged with a Middle Eastern flair, they sojourn "across the river" to wait for you, their lover, and implore "let me slip away, find me by my light."

We are a Curse, which wades through the flooding waters of pop music to become one of the year's most arousing and provocative, drops everywhere this Friday (April 14). The album is up now for pre-order. - Pop Dust

In ten spine-tingling tracks, We Are A Curse is the latest dreamy indie pop record from The Dream Eaters. It’s not your typical synth-and-airiness, though: there’s a tangy, sour taste that accompanies the otherwise soft songs that brings a fresh take to the genre. It’s the band’s first full-length, released on April 14, and it promises powerful things to come for this Brookyn duo.

This record is murky musical escapism, featuring chilling harmonies and intricate synth layered together to create something wonderfully spacey. Vocals are powerful-yet-airy, and when that combines with the slightly twangy sound of the duo’s instrumentals, it brings a new flavor to “dream pop” while maintaining the ideally haunting sound and eerie, soft-on-the-edges vocals.

Clocking in at just under 40 minutes, each song is long enough to pack in several different changes in mood and sound without feeling rushed or abrupt. In fact, it’s almost relaxing – Sugar Coma let me zone out and feel the music without absorbing anything else. However, strong lyrics ground listeners, preventing them from feeling hollow or too much like they’ll float away. Bright instrumentals aid in this from time to time, providing a twangy sound behind all of the airiness.

In a fashion similar to that of The Antlers or Beach House, The Dream Eaters have put their own spicy spin on dream pop. Among the genre, We Are A Curse is definitely a standout. After all, who can resist the contrast between soft and twangy, sweet and sour, or dreamy and bright?

Check out the band’s website, and find their music on Spotify, Apple Music, and SoundCloud. - indieentry

We recently reviewed We Are A Curse, the excellent debut album from Dream Pop duo The Dream Eaters. As a follow up to the review, we asked singer Elizabeth LeBaron a few questions to get to know a little more about the female half of The Dream Eaters equation.

This is what she shared with us.

DISARM – What are your current preoccupations?

Elizabeth – Jake and I spend a few days a week together planning our next moves, rehearsing, and refining our live setup. Outside of that, I doodle a lot and have a small illustration and calligraphy side project. I’m a sucker for stationary and snail mail, so you’ll find me at my desk once in a while handwriting letters or trying out a new nib.

What should everyone shut up about?

Unicorn frapps. I just don’t get it.

How do you spoil yourself?

Indian takeout (enjoyed while binge watching Shameless, most likely).

What is your favourite journey?

Physically? The drive from Calgary (my hometown) through the Rockies all the way to Vancouver is pretty great (as long as you mentally block out all that traffic).

What should people know about you?

I’m that person who always orders three tacos even though I know I’m probably only going to eat two (most likely because I ate all the chips and salsa before you even got there). It works out for you, ’cause you know you’ll always get the extra one.

Thanks Elizabeth! We’ll look to nail down Jack Zavracky and ask him some very personal questions in the near future. Fair is fair right? - Disarm Magazine

Hey, tell us a bit about yourself.

We met while we were both bartending at the same place in Brooklyn. I had no idea Elizabeth was a singer until her husband told me, so I found some stuff she posted on soundcloud and liked it, and then I had her come over to my little studio in my apartment to record some new stuff I was working on.

It wasn’t instant magic but we could tell there was something there. So we started working together more and released a bunch of EPs under the name Jake and Elizabeth, which we would later decide is the worst name ever invented and change to the Dream Eaters.

That stuff was a little more shoe-gazy. Then we realized that what we thought was interesting about us was our voices working together in harmony, so we started focusing on that more, putting that more up front. We released a very stripped down EP, “Five Little Pills”; that sort of laid the groundwork for the album that we’re promoting now, “We Are A Curse”, which is a lot more about songwriting and singing.

Where did the new single come from?

Dead on the Inside is just about feeling lost, coming unmoored. Feeling like you can’t do anything right. That’s the whole album really, the theme that ties it together. That song went through a lot of stylistic changes while we were recording it; it was originally based on the groove from T. Rex’s “Mambo Sun”, and it was sung in more of a Marc Bolan-esque way, which you can still hear a little of in the verse, that breathy understated singing.

Then we sort of made it less funky and had it build more because I wanted it to be more like an update of Roy Orbison’s “Crying” or the Righteous Brother’s “Unchained Melody”, starting out subdued and building into a wall of sound, our version of that.

Is there more content in the pipeline?

Yes, we’re writing a new album which I’d guess would come out sometime early next year, although I’ve found it’s very difficult to predict these things. We’re also working on doing this really grand show that gets filmed live and the audience is like a choir but some of the details on that have yet to be firmed up and it might actually be so unrealistic that it’s silly to even spend money that we don’t have on it, but we’re pretty into the idea right now.

What’s on the horizon for you?

We’re doing a lot of shows this summer all over the Northeast and then this fall we’re planning on going to the Midwest and Canada. Right now we play live as a duo and I use a looper to loop vocals and we layer harmonies, but we hope to add a drummer and a bassist soon, at least to play with us in NYC. And I assume shortly after that happens we’ll extend every song into a 20 minute jam and become an arena rock band. - Purple Melon

Off the new album 'We Are A Curse', “Neanderthals” is a beautiful piece of songwriting and production from The Dream Eaters, the project of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron (formerly known as ‘Jake and Elizabeth’). Both share vocal duties on this track, in addition to the anthemic choir effect to the chorus, which lends a nice element to the already-soaring hook. With polished production emphasizing the eclectic nature of quality chamber-pop, from the twinkling choir around 02:40 to the infectious percussive stuttering effect in the first verses, “Neanderthals” is an impressive project from a quickly rising duo with heaps of potential.

The Dream Eaters' story began in 2015. After playing clubs with various projects and languishing in obscurity for years in his hometown of Boston and later in New York City, Zavracky decided to stop performing completely. Then, while working as a bartender at a dive bar in Brooklyn. he met LeBaron, another bartender who had just relocated from Vancouver Island, BC. Discovering that they were fellow musicians, they began to collaborate and found an instant connection.

As a composer and producer, Zavracky began writing songs for LeBaron to sing alone but soon found their voices blended together in harmony to create a wholly unique sound. The duo released several singles and EPs under the name Jake and Elizabeth, changing it to The Dream Eaters before the release of their self-produced debut EP 'Five Little Pills'. A bare-bones production that they self-recorded and released, it was a precursor to the sound that is now fully realized on their full-length debut album,' We Are A Curse', which was released on April 14th, 2017. - The Sirens Sound

Standing stoically in New York Harbor is the iconic Statute of Liberty. For 142 years, it has symbolized the very values expressed in the United States’ Star-Spangled Banner – freedom, opportunity, and courage. New York City itself has become the center of the American Dream, as tens of thousands of people descend upon its five boroughs each year to turn their goals and ambitions into reality. With the City teeming with ex-pats and Americans from other states, it’s only a matter of time before people of different nationalities, ethnicities, and cultures meet. Such is the case with Brooklyn-based duo The Dream Eaters.

Comprised of Boston native Jake Zavracky and Calgary-born Elizabeth LeBaron, the two met by chance and learned they shared an affinity for music. Like how many bands are formed in NYC (see one of our favorites Belle Mare), the two ended up developing a chemistry that would lead to them creating ethereal dream-folk and dream-pop. They released their debut EP, Five Little Pills, a year ago, which was a mystical and fantasy-like compilation of five songs. Imagine a Hans Christian Anderson book of short stories put to song, which is what Five Little Pills was.

As they embark on their next phase of their musical journey, The Dream Eaters have set their sights in a new direction – the contemporary world and its changes and struggles. With the new focus comes a fuller and more cinematic sound, and all of this is revealed on their new single, “Dead On The Inside”, which we are pleased to premiere today.

From LeBaron’s haunting and engrossing vocals to Zavracky’s captivating instrumentation, the song is beautifully euphoric. It is like a dream slowly coming to life, one in which we endlessly struggle to reach our destination or wait for our free fall to end. But this dream is also reality, where in today’s political climate some may feel “dead on the inside, stepping on landmines”. “Dead On The Inside” might be the most stunning and gorgeous protest song you will ever hear. Leave it to a band from New York City to give us a powerful and memorable number that will haunt our minds, steal our hearts, and motivate us to do more. - The Revue

Harmonias sonhadoras é o que o duo The Dream Eaters, formado por, Jake Zavracky e Elizabeth LeBaron, criaram em seu debute, "We Are A Curse", esbanjando suas deliciosas e delicadas criações.

Em um clima absolutamente envolvente o duo passeia sem se prender a nenhum gênero, de pepitas entre o dreampop e uma doce psicodelia passando por leves doses de um shoegaze agridoce, o rótulo é secundário para o The Dream Eaters o que importa na realidade é o contexto.

Especialmente recomendado para ser degustado em dias como os de hoje, chuvosos e melancólicos.


***** Interview with The Dream Eaters *****



Q. When did The Dream Eaters start? Tell us about the history...
I met Elizabeth during the time when we worked at the same bar. Her husband told me she was a singer, so I had her come over and we recorded a couple songs I had lying around. They were good, not great but we could tell there was something there. This was about two years ago. We started to develop our sound and we added lot more harmonies and over the next couple years everything really came together and our new album is the culmination of the whole thing.

Q: Who are your influences?
The five albums that I seem to continuously turn to when I'm writing are The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Bowie's Hunky Dory, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On and Air's Moon Safari. While recording We Are A Curse I also listened to a lot of Broadcast, especially their soundtrack to Berberian Sound Studio; there's definitely a big influence on the sound from that.

Q. Make a list of 5 albuns of all time…
Well there's the five that I just listed above but my top 5 of all time would be slightly different because some of them are not as much of a direct influence on me:

Stevie Wonder: Innervisions
Curtis Mayfield: Curtis
D'Angelo: Voodoo
Air: Moon Safari
Erykah Badu: Mama's Gun

My top 5 changes almost weekly but all of those are mainstays.

Q. How do you feel playing live?
We've been experimenting live for the last few shows. We've been using a looper and recording the audience clapping and singing and playing it back through the speakers and playing along with it. Sometimes it works brilliantly, sometimes it's a disaster, we're still working on it but it's really cool!

Q. How do you describe The Dream Eaters sounds?
I think of it as a sort of choral pop, a lot of harmonies, a lot of voices; it's really centered around the voice. It's somewhat dreamy but the lyrics can also be very inward and explorative.



Q: Tell us about the process of recording the songs ?
The album changed so radically over the course of recording it, so it's hard to nail down a specific process that we used. We started with the two of us singing together in the same room at a studio while I played guitar, so the basic tracks are essentially a live performance. But a lot of that didn't work so we ended up replacing quite a bit of it with overdubs. It took several months to mix it, it was maddening. Over the course of doing things over and over again we finally carved out a sound for it and when we started putting the whole thing together we were surprised how distinct the sound was.

Q. Which new bands do you recommend?
I was just listening to the new Foxygen album before I did this interview and I was really enjoying that. I love the new Thundercat album, I've been listening to that on repeat. I really like the simplicity of the new Julie Byrne album, and the new Dirty Projectors has some truly astonishing moments on it. Sometimes I think the production puts too much of a distance between them and the listener but "Little Bubble" is definitely the best song I've heard all year.

Q: Which band would you love to made a cover version of?
For some reason we have a really hard time choosing covers. Maybe you should suggest one!

Q: What are your plans for the future?
We're touring all over the Northeast US this summer, trying to promote We Are A Curse as much as possible. We think we might do a live album that captures that experimentation I mentioned before too. We also want to try and get a new studio album out sometime next year.

Q: Any parting words?
Buy our album! Check out our website thedreameaters.com, it's updated all the time and has all the
information you could possibly need on us with links to follow us on twitter, facebook, etc..... - The Blog That Celebrates Itself (Brazil)

The duo's upcoming debut full length "We Are a Curse" is a work that marks both the creative peak and new beginning of the duo’s artistry, drawing upon experiences of the past while remaining entirely relevant to the day. Their single, “Neanderthals” (premiering below), though written by Zavracky during the Bush/Cheney administration, serves as an effective and artful jab at the current one. Its overtly angry political chorus, however, “They won’t make us crawl / They’re all Neanderthals” is undercut by a sincerer account of the helpless emotional state that toxic politics can leave us feeling trapped in: “Take your medication / Practice condemnation / Stay inside your houses now”. Two themes compete to govern the track: one of dejected submission to power and one of defiance. Drawing on the sonic influences of stock dream poppers like Beach House and The Antlers, the band adopts melancholic vocal lines to load their lyrics with an added emotional charge. Though the song’s sonic architecture is designed to shoot us into space, the lyrics bring us down to earth, mentally instilling a sense of duality, a contrast and elasticity that feels refreshing. It’s hard not to want to be a part of this band’s emergence. You can pre-order their debut album, slated for release on April, 14th or attend their upcoming shows at Halyards (4/8) or Rockwood Music Hall (5/10). - Andrew Strader - The Deli Magazine NYC

The Dream Eaters’ new release “We are a Curse” features folky dream pop a’la Beach House, with echoes of low fi in the vein of Iron and Wine. The songs on this release also feature gorgeous harmonies with wit and bite to the lyrics. Overall, I felt this release definitely echoed one of my favorite bands, Kings of Convenience.

Tracks like the opener “Dead on the Inside” feature a slowly building prescence that sets the tone for the rest of the album. The next track, “Neanderthals” features a bouncy, pop sensibility with a sardonic tone and bit of darkness to the lyrics, leaving the track as a whole to be an enjoyable ear worm that begs for repeated listens.
“Dots” is a sweet, melodic pick me up that leaves the listener feeling like, “You are beautiful and whatever it is; you got this.”

From here the album continues that pattern between songs that weaves itself into a story and is an overall pleasurable listen. This album also manages to have a lot of originality, taking on its own identity while still having those reference points easily identifiable by the listener. This release is not to be missed and especially for someone looking for a fresh, new hybrid in the realm of indie. In short, this album is highly recommended.
Other stand out tracks are “We are a Curse” and “Sugar Coma“.

I also had the opportunity to ask the band a few questions about the album:

Reviewing the band’s history, I noticed that you have recently changed the overall feel and genre of what kind of music you wanted to make. What helps you to decided to move from a more shoegaze sound to something more blended and unique?

Jake: That happened pretty organically when we started focusing on the harmonies and the voices more and putting the vocals in front of the mix. I think there are still shoegaze and dream-pop elements there, but the overall mix is centered around the voices.

The harmonies between Jake and Elizabeth are some of the best I have ever heard, reminding me of one of my favorite semi acoustic low-fi bands, Kings of Convenience. Do you have a process of constructing those layers? Does it come naturally or do you have to work on them to get the overall feel down?

Jake: First of all I love Kings of Convenience too, I listen to them all the time. Usually I write a song and make a demo with the lead melody and some ideas for harmonies, and then Elizabeth and I will get together and tweak the harmonies and figure out who’ll sing the lead line. One rule of thumb is that I never sing a higher note than Elizabeth, because for whatever reason that never sounds right to us.

So after answering that, which comes first: music or lyrics?

Jake: In very rare cases the lyrics might come first but it’s almost always the melody. Sometimes I write the chords first and then the melody comes, but I find that the best songs are usually the ones where you get the melody coming out and everything else is based around that. Those are the songs that take ten minutes to write, and for whatever reason – and I know I am not alone in thinking this – the songs that take ten minutes to write are always the ones everyone likes.

Many of the songs have a bit of a sardonic tone lyrically which is met with a strange sense of optimism within the piece of music as a whole. Was this intentional?

Jake: I’m not necessarily a pessimistic person but my darker side tends to come out in my lyrics, I’m sure that’s the case for a lot of songwriters. I think there’s only a few lines on the album that I would consider truly optimistic but I like to leave things vague enough so that there’s room for interpretation, so I could see how a listener could hear optimism in their own interpretation.

So, what’s the “story” of the album? I read that it’s a bit of collection but it also feels like there is a theme…

Jake: Most of the album is about feeling lost, losing hope; being out at sea. I’m pretty sure that will be the theme of most of our albums, I don’t see that changing much!

The sound of the album is familiar yet also very unique. What are some of your influences and how do you focus on keeping a sense of originality?

Jake: The influences informing this album are pretty endless, I could never name or even remember them all because over the course of making the album there were so many of them. In arranging two part harmony the benchmark for me is always Simon and Garfunkel, and there’s also the Everly Brothers, and of course Kings of Convenience. When we were mixing the album, I was very influenced by Broadcast‘s soundtrack to Berberian Sound Studio and 60’s and 70’s Italian horror movie soundtracks. I always return to Air‘s Moon Safari whenever I’m working on a mix, and you can hear that in certain places as well.

Last question:
If you could hop in Dr. Who’s TARDIS and go to any concert in history, what show would you choose?

Jake: I would have to see Hendrix circa 1968. He’s got to be one of the best performers ever. I did see Prince and Bowie before they died, but seeing either of them in their heydays would be a close second.

Elizabeth: Mine would have to be The Last Waltz. Being Canadian, The Band was a huge part of my upbringing. Despite some of the controversy surrounding that show, how amazing would it have been to see all of those artists under the same roof?!

Thank you both so much! The album is amazing! - FadeAwayRadiate

Brooklyn-based The Dream Eaters bring skin-tingling harmonies together as a dream-pop duo like no other. Blending the vocals of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron, their music will envelop and transform the listener.

The duo’s sound has evolved from classic shoegaze roots to a stripped down, dreamy and ethereal vocal focus. While they draw from a number of influences including dream pop, psychedelic, folk and rock genres, their sound stands in a category of its own, focused around the core of harmonious and haunting melodies.

Their self-produced debut EP, Five Little Pills, recorded as The Dream Eaters, was released on June 23, 2016. A bare-bones production that they self-recorded and released, it provided the precursor of solidifying their new sound and establishing the process they would use to record their first full-length debut album, We Are A Curse, which arrives on April 14th.

The Big Takeover is highly pleased to premiere an exclusive, live-in-studio performance by The Dream Eaters of their song “Astral Asshole”, a track from the upcoming album. Blending beautiful vocal harmonies with a psychedelic sonic and visual mix, it’s both compelling and dreamy.

Zavracky explains the process of recording the track in the studio, detailing, “When we play live, we use a looping pedal to record vocal harmonies. So at the end of this live version of “Astral Asshole”, I hit the looper pedal, we sing “I can’t remember where I’ve been, I can’t remember anything” and the looper records our vocals. Then it loops back to the beginning of the phrase and starts recording again. We record more layers of harmonies. Then I stop the recording and now it just plays back the looped harmonies as we ad lib over the end of the song.”

For more on The Dream Eaters, listen to their single Dead On the Inside released via The Revue last month.

We Are A Curse will be out out April 14, 2017; pre-order it here

If you’re a NYC local, you’ll want to catch them live at Halyards Bar in Brooklyn this weekend, Saturday, April 8 (details) or Monday, May 10 at Rockwood Music Hall in Manhattan! - The Big Takeover

Composed of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron, The Dream Eaters’ latest release is a tantalizing audio morsel that will make you tingle all over. The haunting voice of LeBaron over the multi-layers of musical texture provided by Zavracky create a sound that is dreamy and surreal. Considering Zavracky’s background of musical placements in such hit shows as NCIS, JAG, The Sopranos and Shameless, as well as Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, this winning combination is sure to become even more powerful as they mature their sound. Best tracks include “Neanderthals” (which we feel is the strongest song on the album), “Dots,” “Sugar Coma” (with its perfect harmonies), “So Heavy,” and “Plastic Priestess.”

If you like dreamy pop music, with a healthy dose of thoughtful lyrics and otherworldly harmonies, then this is definitely the album for you. We think you should definitely Get It and prepare yourself for audio heaven. - Indie Voice Blog

Dream-pop duo The Dream Eaters released their debut full-length We Are A Curse today, with an exclusive premiere hosted by PopDust earlier this week. Full of harmonious and powerful melodies, it’ll send chills up your spine as you descend into a murky dream-world of musical escapism and release.

“Even though we recorded We Are A Curse in about three months, it felt like it was years in the making,” shared Jake Zavracky. “Some of the songs are more than a few years old but arranging them for both of our vocals gave them new life. We probably demoed something like 75 songs in trying to get down to the ones that meant the most to us, which are the 10 that are on the album, and many of the songs that we ended up with were re-recorded 10 times over.”

The result is a pristine album of crystal clear vocal harmonizations and haunting melodies. The album’s first track and single “Dead On the Inside”, which premiered on The Revue last month, leads with a rising swell. Following it is “Neanderthals” which premiered on The Deli as a contrasting duality, which The Deli described as, “the song’s sonic architecture designed to shoot us into space, the lyrics bring us down to earth.”

The album was self-produced by Zavracky, hinting at musical talent far beyond performance. As he shared further, “I’ve had a lot of music used over the years on TV, including: Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Sopranos, NCIS, JAG, Shameless, and Sugarboy (a Jimmy Fallon produced web series).” With such talented placements, it’s no wonder that precision and perfection are key values. Despite their vanity in the studio, they perform all elements live, utilizing looping pedals for a layered effect. The Dream Eaters will be touring regionally this summer across the New England and mid-Atlantic states; dates below. - The LP Collective

Dream-pop duo The Dream Eaters have just dropped their debut full length album We Are A Curse.

Formed in 2015, The Dream Eaters is comprised of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron. Zavracky and LeBaron met while they were both bartending in Brooklyn, one having moved from Boston and the other from Vancouver (respectively). When they realized that they were fellow musicians, they started with Zavracky writing music for LeBaron. After realizing how well their voices blended together, the duo began recording and performing as “Jake and Elizabeth.” When their sound had matured and blossomed into something grand, the duo changed their name to The Dream Eaters.

They released their self-produced EP Five Little Pills last summer, a precursor to their debut album. Released on April 14th, We Are A Curse is available for purchase in physical and digital formats via Bandcamp.

So what can music lovers expect from this enigmatic duo? Well, ethereal melodies and masterful harmonizing is the basic way to describe the music on We Are A Curse. Transcendent Shoegaze and entrancing Dream-pop is another way to describe the music. Yet these labels don’t quite do The Dream Eaters’ music justice.

Perhaps the best way to describe their music is as something truly original. Like milk in the ear and honey on the soul, The Dream Eaters’ music is lush, lavish, and extraordinary. With the vocals as the primary focus of each song, and the instruments and electronic effects rounding out the melodies, the harmonies on We Are A Curse are unlike anything that has come before it. Truly, it sounds like Zavracky’s and LeBaron’s voices were meant to come together and create this angelic music.

Each track on the album differs from the others, something that must have been difficult with such an original sound. “Neanderthals” features a dominating beat that brings to mind the psychedelic pop music from The Beatles during the late 60s and early 70s. Then there is the melodious “Dots” and the heavenly “Sugar Coma.” Both tracks feature the stunning vocals of Zavracky and LeBaron, but it is in “Sugar Coma” that the harmonies take central stage. This is the track that will give listeners frisson: that telltale shiver up the spine that leaves a person breathless.

However, despite the undeniable beauty of The Dream Eaters’ music, their songs are also somewhat ironic. For instance, in the title track “We Are A Curse” the lyrics “We are a curse, / We are the worst” are repeated throughout the song. Yet, as per their signature sounds, the song doesn’t feel anything like a curse. But if one were to look at the track in context of the rest of the album, it seems like The Dream Eaters are touching on larger themes and even a bit of social commentary.

We Are A Curse is definitely an album worth checking out. And with their original and unique sound, The Dream Eaters are a duo that we should keep our eyes on and our ears open to.

Keep up with The Dream Eaters on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and be sure to check out their website. And check to see if they are playing live near you this summer. - Disarm

Some nice dreamy shit from this grouping of dreamers, WHO FUCKING EAT DREAMS. Keep your dreams off their dinner plates motherfuckers. - Vacation in Your Hell

Interview by: Samantha Toy

Veracious Magazine – VM // Elizabeth LeBaron – EL // Jake Zavracky – JZ

VM) Your album, We Are A Curse, will be releasing in just a couple of days! How excited are you to release it?

EL) This is our debut full length as The Dream Eaters, and we worked on it quite literally every single day for months. To say we’re excited to share it with you would be an understatement!

VM) What can you tell us about this album?

EL) A lot of these songs have been in Jake’s back pocket for quite a while, but we wrote some completely new material together as well. We didn’t originally have the intention for it to be politically charged, but timing would have it that it can easily be applied as such. There’s a lot of wet harmonies and haunting melodies, and some cool electronic aspects thanks to Jake’s production.

JZ) We mostly wanted the album to be about creating a feeling, and sort of moving seamlessly through that. We wanted people feel like they were completely absorbed in it. Ideally, people would listen to it in headphones and sit in a room doing nothing else, it should be sort of like watching a movie.

VM) We Are A Curse has 10 tracks. Do you have a favorite song so far?

EL) I arranged the harmonies/background vocals for a few of the tracks, so I’m partial to those. My favorite moments are when the layers start building up at the ends of We Are A Curse and Plastic Priestess, but I think my favorite has to be Astral Asshole.

JZ) My favorite in terms of production is probably Sugar Coma, and in terms of songwriting I’d say Astral Asshole as well.

VM) How do you think your music has changed from your previous work?

EL) I think this album is a pretty logical progression from the EP Five Little Pills. We also released Too Much Sugar under our old name, Jake and Elizabeth, which was much more heavily produced. We’ve managed to meet in the middle this time and we feel like we’ve found our sound.

VM) Who are your musical influences?

EL) Jake and I will undoubtedly have very different answers for this. I’m a sucker for harmonies, so I really identify with artists like The Staves. When I first started singing outside of choirs, I really identified with Canadian artists like Stars and Feist, who I still consider to be my biggest influences.

JZ) They’re really all over the map but definitely Bowie, Pink Floyd, Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Tom Jobim; those are the big ones.

VM) What do you both have planned after your release?

JZ) We want to make a sort of live album, although we haven’t really firmed that up conceptually. In the meantime we’re making a lot of videos and trying to find new ways to make our performances more experimental.

VM) Can your fans expect an upcoming tour or couple shows in New York?

EL) Yes! We’re playing Rockwood Music Hall on May 10, and Pete’s Candy Store June 16. This summer we’re playing all over the Northeast, the dates will be added on our website as things develop, there’s a bunch there already. We can’t wait to meet you!

Make sure to pre-order the band’s album, We Are A Curse in three days!

http://thedreameaters.com - Veracious Magazine

Again at this moment I can only tell you how fabulous The Dream Eaters forthcoming album is, however I can share their debut EP from last year. Taking nothing away from their first release, the new album seemingly upgrades every aspect of their music, in part because of the stunning production. As demonstrated by the EP, melodies, vocals and harmonies are the cornerstone of the music. Everything has a natural and sometimes quite personal feel running through the songs, where dreamy vocals are never far away. - Beehive Candy

In late Spring 2017 The Dream Eaters, aka Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron will release their LP We Are a Curse and it is the music dreams are made of.

The album opens with “Dead on the Inside” which is the best tune on the entire record.Lush vocals and dreamy musical landscapes paired with pitch perfect harmonies are what this pair of musical masters are known for they bring it to the forefront here in a more unique way. The content is darker with lyrics that speak of “gasping for air” and “sinking in the quicksand.” The sound of a bell ringing gets the tune going and sets the tone for its somber mood. It’s haunting and mesmerizing but still completely beautiful. At points in the chorus the vocals soar and have the ability to touch the soul in a way that few artists can. Close your eyes and let The Dream Eaters take you on a one of a kind stop that evokes emotions within and pours them out with a release we all need. Gorgeous and enthralling it’s hard to find a better song on the LP.

“Sugar Coma” is the perfect example of both Zavracky and LeBaron working together to produce a kind of lullaby that one could listen to on repeat all day and night. There’s a whimsical feel here that has much to do with the playful instrumentation that back up the vocalists so brilliantly. It’s like being on the best merry go round possible going round and round. Zavracky and LeBaron sing in unison and while their voices do blend together seamlessly with harmonies that are goosebump inducing one can also hear each voice individually never losing their identity in the track. The lyrics are a pure visual godsend and see The Dream Eaters pushing their own boundaries of what they can write as lyricists. When you put all of this together with an ethereal sound that the duo know how to create so well you are left with a standout moment on the LP.

The title track “We Are a Curse” is one not to be forgotten. Once again the harmonies are hypnotic and it is balanced between a more militarized drumbeat backing the two up, like they are marching to war. It is powerful while still being delicate as the instrumentation has a commanding presence over the vocals. But what stands out here are the lyrics that paint an immediate picture in listeners heads. “We suck young blood leaving the bodies strewn on the ground,” the two sing with such beauty creating a juxtaposition that sticks out on the album in the best way possible. The whole song leads up to our faithful vocalists repeating the phrase “we are the curse/we are the worst” and the more the sentence is said the more powerful and unsettling, yet dazzling, it becomes. It is definitely not a track to be missed.

The album on a whole flows from one song to the next making it a cohesive piece of art. There are a few missteps like “Neanderthals” which gets lost in the shuffle of better tracks, “Astral Asshole,” which is clever but comes off too crass in an otherwise stunning album and “Brazil Song” which drags at over five minutes. Still the LP is full of beautiful, sweeping moments that feel like being in a semi awake dream and Zavracky and LeBaron should be proud of what they have created. - Music Existence

Brooklyn’s dream-pop duo, The Dream Eaters, teamed up with The Revue yesterday for the release of their single “Dead On The Inside”. It’s an unforgettable melody, full of unabashed emotion and passion, with beautiful harmonies and hauntingly reflective lyrics.

“Dead On The Inside” comes as the first single off The Dream Eaters album We Are A Curse, scheduled for release on April 14. “Dead On The Inside was one of the first songs that we knew would definitely be on the album,” shared Jake Zavracky. “But, it also seemed all too relevant after the election. It was supposed to have gone later in the album but we thought there was no better way to sum up the way that everyone was feeling at that time, so it went first.” As The Revue commented, “Dead On The Inside might be the most stunning and gorgeous protest song you will ever hear. Leave it to a band from New York City to give us a powerful and memorable number that will haunt our minds, steal our hearts, and motivate us to do more.”

They had additional vocalists chime in, including Amanda Khiri (Sinkane), a former bandmate of Zavracky’s, to build an epic gospel-ish vibe, nurturing the opening track from soft whispers to a crescendo of swelling vocal harmony. “Dead On The Inside focuses on getting lost, coming unmoored; living in a murky dream,” said Zavracky, “slowly building, almost like a Righteous brothers song.” It’s the first introduction to a glimmering world of musical escapism and release, with the first two singles providing a one-two punch, and the rest of the album “getting much weirder and more challenging from there.”

While an immediate hit from the start, the recording process for “Dead On the Inside” wasn’t always so clear – the final version was the 47th adaptation, though the vocals were kept from the first session, recorded by Dan Kramer at King Killer Studios in Brooklyn. - Music Injection

he Dream Eaters have introduced themselves to the indie scene with their April 2017 release We are a Curse. It is a record that melds despondent, echoing vocals, with gently finger-picked guitars and at times dissonant electronic background noise to create a pensive, lullaby-like experience for the listener.

The album begins with a track titled “Dead on the Inside.” Immediately, the duo is established as musically simple, with more complexity in the vocal harmonies – soft childlike cooings of Elizabeth LeBaron paired with the androgynous voice of Jack Zavraky. You can hear the dreamy quality that earns the band their name, as well as influences – both intentional and unintentional, ranging from Bon Iver to Lorde to the Silversun Pickups. There are distant, reminiscing lyrics in a low-fi environment and the result is something that certain listeners will enjoy.

As the album rolls into the second song, “Neandrathals,” a little more of the energy and drive I was craving became present. There are darker electronic elements there, along with dissonant yet joyful keys. LeBaron certainly has a pretty voice – very young, warbly, and on trend right now. It has a theatrical quality that could prove useful- The Dream Eaters music could easily narrate the right emotional television or movie scene.

“Dots,” “Astral Atmosphere,” and “So Heavy” all contain sad, squeaky guitars deeply reminiscent of the early 2000s hipster indie scene – artists like Dashboard Confessional, Death Cab for Cutie, and Iron & Wine, who were also characterized by nostalgic, pained, and folksy bedroom strumming. The repeated lyric, “so lost,” describes the feeling well. The duo plays somewhere between feelings of amnesia and aphasia. Their vibe is so distant and haunting it could be mistaken for emotionless, but I think an increase in production quality and a little experience will bring more passion to their sound over time.

We Are a Curse is a record where songs seem to wash into one another like passing waves. The sadder tracks like “So Heavy” flow naturally into sing-songy, almost creepy tracks like “Sugar Coma,” “Plastic Priestess,” and “Almost Afraid.” LeBaron leads you through empty hallways and echoing rooms with nursery rhyme vocals and tearful cracking voices. Their sound plays into recent trends and it is not surprising that the young pair is from Brooklyn, a place where shoegazing hipsters have thrived for years.

The second to last and title track “We are a Curse” is soft but not without a little grit and edge. It is not as intense as Lana Del Rey or Lorde, though stylistically Le Baron is similar to the two. Each track leaves a little power to be desired on its own, but the album as a whole is peaceful and misty in a pleasantly hypnotizing way. As it ends on the heartfelt “Brazil Song,” the listener is left in a hazy, enchanted state.

The Dream Eaters are like a pair of modern sirens, who call you in with their song and leave you in a mystical, haunting, and peaceful place. Though they are musically simple and could have a little more production without losing their raw emotion, The Dream Eaters have made a ripple in the pool of their scene.

I certainly look forward to seeing what they do live and on upcoming records. Check out the new album We are a Curse when it drops on April 14th and let us know what you think! - RARAs Farm Music Blog

Late last week, I wrote about New York-based dream pop duo The Dream Eaters. And as you may recall, the duo, comprised of Boston, MA-born, New York-based composer and songwriter Jake Zavracky and Vancouver Island, BC-born, New York-based vocalist and musician Elizabeth LeBaron can trace their origins back to 2015. As the story goes, after playing and touring in obscurity in both his hometown of Boston and New York, Zavracky had decided that it was time to give up music, and for a period do time he was working in a Brooklyn dive bar, where he met LeBaron, another bartender, who at the time had recently relocated to New York. Discovering that they were both musicians, they found an instant connection and began collaborating together — although initially, Zavracky had written songs for LeBaron. However, when Zavracky and LeBaron realized that their harmonies helped to create a truly unique sound, while drawing from dream pop, shoegaze, psych pop, folk and indie rock, they recognized that the best thing would be to be write, record, and perform together.

Initially writing and performing as Jake and Elizabeth, the duo saw a rapidly growing profile; however, as they began to further refine their sound, they felt that it was necessary to rebrand themselves, eventually taking up the name The Dream Eaters. And as The Dream Eaters, Zavracky and LeBaron released their self-produced debut EP Five Little Pills, an effort which has proven to be the precursor of the bare-bone production and sparse yet hauntingly gorgeous sound of their soon-to be released full-length debut, We Are A Curse‘s first single “Dead On The Inside.” Sonically speaking, the duo pairs LeBaron’s lilting and effortless vocals with gently strummed folk-like guitar and chiming percussion with a soaring hook which displays the duo’s stunning harmonizing. And while bearing a resemblance to Moonbabies’ Wizards on the Beach, the song manages to sound as though it draws from Nick Drake and Crosby, Stills, and Nash-era folk. While thematically speaking, the song as the duo explained focuses on coming unmoored and getting lost, and walking around with the realization that you’re living in a murky, anxious and unforgiving dream, evoking what many of us feel living in this surreal political climate; and while being a gorgeous and understated protest song, there’s an underlying sense of resolve and determination to survive and overcome the dark days ahead.

Interestingly, “Neanderthals,” We Are A Curse‘s second and latest single wasn’t originally meant to be on the album — and according to Zavracky is a revised and altered version of a song that he had originally written towards the end of the Bush Administration. After the 2016 presidential election the song seemed sadly relevant again, and ultimately came together very quickly. And as Zavracky explains the song starts with a very pessimistic us vs. them mentality but takes on an optimistic, sort of “Don’t let the bastards grind you down” type of sentiment. “It’s mean to be more inspirational aha negative by the end,” Jake Zavracky says. Elizabeth LeBaron adds that over the past couple of months, the song has grown and developed a much deeper meaning, even after they had finished it. “When we decided to record this song, the Women’s March was breaking records all over the world and this song felt like an anthem. ‘They won’t make us crawl / They’re all neanderthals’ are words that I think will resonate with anyone who is against the “archaic” ideologies being pushed by the new administration,” LeBaron says. However, sonically speaking, the duo pairs shuffling, trip hop-inspired beats with their gorgeous harmonies, twinkling keys and a soaring, anthemic hook to craft what may be the most strident and forcefully political song they’ve released to date. - The Joy Of Violent Movement

Dream-pop newcomers, The Dream Eaters release their first album, We Are A Curse on April 14. The duo made up of Jake Zavracky and Elizabeth LeBaron met in 2015 while bartending in Brooklyn. The two had an instant connection and gained popularity as the group Jake and Elizabeth. With a shift in style from shoe-gaze to dream-pop, the group changed their name to The Dream Eaters, a fitting name considering their unorthodox style of dream-pop. The band takes influence from psychedelic, folk, and rock music. The album marries acoustics and ambiance to create a full, rich, and colorful sound. Listening to the first track, “Dead On The Inside” exemplifies the sensory richness of this album. An amazing feature of the album is the fullness that Zavracky and Lebaron create with little more than an acoustic guitar and their voices. The album is very simple, yet beautiful. The vocals are the focus of this album and give each song its tone. In songs like, “Astral Asshole” the vocals create a heavenly, angelic sound, while in songs like, “Plastic Priestess” and “We Are A Curse” they are ominous and create a creepy effect. The album is calm and relaxing and the lyrics add to the peaceful, yet melancholy vibe. Lyrically, this is a sad album, you can tell this just by looking at the songs, “Dead On The Inside,” “So Heavy,” and “Almost Afraid.” The instrumentation hints at the melancholiness of the lyrics, but also maintains a happy, upbeat sound. The first three tracks on the album, “Dead On The Inside,” “Neanderthals,” and “Dots” feature simple acoustic guitar and are upbeat and enjoyable songs. The vocals on these track are incredible and give it a full, almost overwhelming sound. The vocals on the song “Neanderthal” kind of reminded me of the vocal layering the Beach Boys used. “Plastic Priestess” and “We Are A Curse” are also enjoyable tracks, they are a little darker, but playful with their lyrics. The lyrics throughout this album are meaningful, the duo do a good job of storytelling. Overall, this a great debut album, it is a creative and easy listen. I look forward to listening to it again when it is released in April. - WUOG Athens Blog

Opening with the eerie single beats of a church bell, The Dream Eaters provide a hard-hitting start to their new album ‘We Are a Curse’. The weaving vocals of Elizabeth LeBaron and Jake Zavracky provide this album with a sound reminiscent to that of The XX, calming and dreamy they live up to their name. With a stripped down, minimalist feel this album relies heavily on their soft beats and calming vocals to provide the key influence of the album.

The album itself easily weaves from one song to the next, no heavily intermissions or breaks from these dreamers. The calming guitar strings within ‘Dots’ provide mesmerising melodies between the two vocalists and their instruments to create a paralysing effect to the listener. These new artists with only 129 monthly listeners on Spotify are an up and coming band that should be known by any interested in the indie/dream community.

Almost creepy and haunting, the album lures you in. However, by the end of the album the tracks are uplifting and leaning even heavily on the eco critical forefront. With lulling waves and long notes drawn out by leading vocalist, LeBaron. By the ending of the album, there is the feeling that you have gained something. With the statement of ‘Please remember me, the way I used to be’ is providing you with comfort for any ill thought and hardships.

Improving on their last singles from ‘Five Little Pills’ they draw further upon the dreamy and iridescent sound that has been created to sound flawless and worthy of any new listener hoping to get into the indie scene. Relatable to every day listeners, the duo met while bartending in Brooklyn , highlighting the importance of not giving up on your dreams, a statement that is provided even in their band title. The interweaving of the vocals with the use of the guitar provide this album with minalist beauty, one that is forgotten in a world of trying to provide the hard hitting punching effect of ‘instant’ music. It instead relies on genuine feelings and good vocals to provide something stunning, a real gem. - GIGsoup

I knew I was in for an adventure when I looked at the track list for The Dream Eaters’ We Are the Curse and found a track titled “Astral Asshole.”

The group has roots in Brooklyn, Boston, and Vancouver Island, BC. So each band member carries a bit of that grey weather into the music. Being seaside helps too.

That snarkily titled single I referred to just now? It’s actually pretty dang chill. Given the vibe of the song versus the overall vibe of the album, I’m surprised the band chose it as their single. It’s easy to listen to it in passing, and perhaps even fall asleep to it. It’s only when you start paying attention that you realize that the song could be taken as being a bit sarcastic.

“Astral Asshole” aside though, I respect the crap of out of this band, because it seems to me that their mission is to take preconceived notions of dream pop and turn them upside down. The album begins with a lot of punch and transitions into acoustic guitar driven songs that produce a floating effect. The ironically titled single included. In some ways, I feel that I’m listening to two different bands when comparing the first three songs to the last seven. Album closer “Brazil Song” is a highlight of the chill majority, coming across as a lullaby the most of its counterparts. It’s a fitting juxtaposition to the aggressive beginning to the album.

Speaking of the aggressive portions, I’d like to hear the group expand upon the sound heard in tracks 1-3 more. My favorite of the three is probably “Neanderthals.” Upon listening to that song I was prepped in my mind to craft this review around a thesis of “it’s okay to be aggressive in dreamy songs,” a theme that I still think the band could pursue down the road. I feel like they’re still finding themselves. But that’s okay. If I didn’t hear something promising I wouldn’t be telling you all about this right now. - Tuned Up

Oh yeah. This is some fine and glossy pop, festooned with a bit of boogie guitar, and a heavenly vocal that I swear sounds like Judee Sill, semi-mysterious, revered 70’s singer/songwriter of all people. Anyway, all of this together makes for a pretty heavenly sound, and a welcome new entry into the pop church hymn book. - PickingUpRocks

Performing solo, Dream Eaters singer Elizabeth LeBaron stands out as a memorable chanteuse, her pliant instrument possessed of a dulcet mid-range that gracefully modulates to ethereal highs without so much as a waver. But when fellow Dream Eater Jake Zavracky begins weaving weird harmonies alongside her, the net effect is positively chill-bump-inducing, making for a mesmerizing sonic signature that sets the Brooklyn-based duo wholly apart from any of their navel-gazing peers.

“At first, Elizabeth was the only singer,” Zavracky says. “I was doing some background vocals, but that’s it. But gradually I started singing more, because we discovered pretty quick that our voices mesh really well. So our sound is kind of based around those dreamy harmonies that we do together. We could do any style of music, and if those harmonies were still there, it would still sound like us.”

Zavracky and LeBaron met only a couple of years ago, as fellow bartenders at a Brooklyn watering hole. Zavracky was a recovering heavy metal guitar player who had evolved into what he calls “singer-songwriter producer guy,” and LeBaron was an aspiring singer with a handful of demos on Soundcloud.

They decided to record a song together, on a lark. Zavracky characterizes the results of that first session as being “just okay… but enough for us to keep going.”

Strangely enough, the two never colluded on the direction of their incipient musical endeavor. Without any malice aforethought, they began producing a literate dream pop/shoegaze hybrid that’s anchored by a strong sense of craft — Zavacky is an able guitarist and songwriter, and a canny studio wizard — yet borne aloft by those weirdly majestic harmonies.

“It was strange, in that I didn’t even know what her musical tastes were until later on, when we went out on the road,” Zavracky says. “And I guess she was kind of a muse for me, when I first heard her sing. But I’m sure how it really affected how anything came out. I don’t try to write anything in a particular way. I just write the best songs that I can, and then bring the production up to where I want it to be.”

If their collaboration has been an intuitive one, it’s been remarkably fruitful, as well, with the duo having produced four EPs and one full-length album — 2017’s “We Are A Curse” — all within the space of two years. Zavracky says another album is already in the works, adding that his songwriting for next platter has taken on a more accessible cast.

“What we’re working on now seems to be going in an even more poppy direction,” he says. “It’s still weird; I don’t think I’m capable of writing a Katy Perry song. I’m too weird to write the songs that those people write, and the production certainly won’t be as slick. But it’s going more in the direction of what you hear from pop music nowadays.” - Scruffington Post