"When I'm feeling overwhelmed, I often find myself daydreaming. I sometimes struggle to tell the difference between what’s real and what’s just a dream."
— Katie Dillon
True to its name, ‘Are You Dreaming?’ completely embraces the ethereal qualities and gentle haze of dream-pop, signaling a slight shift away from the distorted shoegaze styles that characterized their earlier work. “Genres are great, but we all have diverse musical tastes, so I don’t think we could ever stick to just one genre,” Katie explains, emphasizing the importance of having the freedom to explore new sounds. “But it can be quite bothersome when people from our hometown ask me what kind of music I create,” Herbie adds with a laugh.
The band's music frequently brings to mind ‘80s legends like Cocteau Twins, The Cure, and Tears for Fears—an association that Herbie welcomes: “There are nods to specific ‘80s tracks and styles in my guitar work." However, Katie notes that the influences this time were less intentional or defined. “With our previous EPs, we usually had a certain band or song that inspired them. For this one, we haven’t really considered any singular influence. So, this is an intriguing experience for us as well.”
One song in particular, ‘Runaway,’ has unexpectedly drawn similarities to Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams,’ thanks to producer Macks Faulkron. “I didn’t realize that until we were heading to the studio to record it,” Charlie chuckles. “I think we’re becoming more assured in our own sound. We’ve had enough time to refine it.” Katie agrees: “It’s great to draw inspiration from other artists. Ideally, it creates a cycle where everyone inspires one another.”
Their increasing assurance matches their aspirations for what lies ahead after the EP's launch, especially regarding live performances. “I believe these songs, particularly the title track, are suited for larger venues,” Charlie remarks. Katie concurs: “We approached this with the mindset that it’s meant for big stages. If you write with that intention, it’ll come to fruition.”
When asked about their favorite tracks, the band collectively identifies the two songs that were not chosen as singles, ‘R.E.M’ and ‘Runaway’. “Coincidence? I think not!” Herbie humorously points out. Still, they made a calculated choice in selecting ‘Same Old Story’ as the lead single: “If we had chosen something like ‘Fallen’ first, people would have reacted strongly, so it definitely—hopefully—eases listeners into the new material,” Katie explains.
She continues: “‘Runaway’ and ‘R.E.M’ are quite different from everything we’ve put out before. We will always refer back to our earlier work, but we want to keep evolving and improving in our songwriting.” Regarding their future direction, Katie hints: “It won’t be shoegaze, but it will reference it.”
For now, the band is pacing themselves, opting out of a demanding touring schedule to concentrate on this new material. “We’d love to create an album,” Charlie shares. “It’s everyone’s dream,” Katie adds. “We have a few shows to wrap up the year,” including two headline performances in Colchester around the EP's release date, “and then we need to focus on being creative again.”
Though they are still figuring out the balance between dreams and reality, as well as the distance between Katie’s base in London and their hometown in Essex, She’s In Parties seems to have discovered their groove in the interim. And it appears that in this hazy, transitional space, their sound has truly come into its own.
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Introducing the Essex-London quartet that, although located in two different places, has combined the transitional space between them to produce their most ambitious work to date with their new EP ‘Are You Dreaming?’.