Reverist – Dreaming Onward

Reverist is a young indie alternative band hailing from the Orlando, Florida area and their debut EP is entitled Dreaming Onward. The quartet originally formed in 2015 when physician and founding member Omar Qazi, still an undergrad, taught himself how to play piano and guitar. Qazi later looked to develop the project further as an addendum to his busy professional life and drafted veteran drummer Steve Addington. Bassist Matthew Walsh and violinist Cooper Johansen soon rounded out the lineup and the band entered the studio late last year to begin recording this effort. They invite comparisons to bands like The 1975, but Reverist’s music is something more. There’s a decidedly theatrical air informing each of their debut’s five songs and their noisy, chaotic clatter of the arrangements underscores that aspect of the listening experience.

 Despite the raucous sound of their songs, Reverist’s material bubbles with an upbeat mood and a heavy focus on melody. The opener “Superhero” strikes that note seconds in. No matter how much distortion or energy the band pours into their playing, “Superhero” is constructed around melodic strengths that can’t help shining through. Qazi’s vocal talents are high powered enough to match the wide kaleidoscopes of sound conjured by the band. “Machinery” begins with Qazi’s voice and a heavily processed electronic pulse that soon expands into much wider synthesizer lines and a propulsive backbeat that wrests control of the song’s direction. It’s an urgent, forceful number with muscularity to spare, but this is never by the numbers Neanderthal material. The compositional excellence and sharp production instincts shine through once again.

Reverist takes on a fully fledged dance number with the improbably titled “About the Past”. The song is pushed by a relentless backbeat recorded with such clarity that it sounds like the beats are blasting from mere centimeters away. Some of this may be attributable to modern post-production, but this isn’t an abrasively brick walled tempo and the drum sound gives the song a bright blast of energy. “They Are Weak, But We Are Strong” is a song steadily mounting from its opening strains and, when the song reaches its peak, the experience is quite thrilling. The title is a little unwieldy, but it’s a minor criticism. There’s an appealing mix of instrumentation, namely electric piano and processed guitar, used in unique ways.

Dreaming Onward ends with its title track. The band’s trademark melodic strengths are once again apparent from the outset, but there’s an epic rock and roll spirit imbuing this song missing from earlier efforts. The band’s aforementioned penchant for theatrical designs is equally obvious as well. This is an appropriately rousing conclusion for an EP written and performed to lift spirits and put smiles on faces. Reverist is far from a lightweight band peddling overblown pop tunes; these are serious songwriters and musicians connected to something much bigger than the Strum and Drang of everyday life.

REVERBNATION: https://www.reverbnation.com/reverist

URL: http://www.reveristmusic.com/

9 out of 10 stars

Cyrus Rhodes