ALBUM REVIEW: Occasional Dreams – To The City

’…an engaging and cinematic listen, and is certain to be a superb foundation from which Occasional Dreams can build from…’

Having formed back in 2019, Occasional Dreams have long been aiming to forge the perfect soundtrack to your journey. The Norwegian-British five-piece released their debut EP ‘Freeway’ back in 2023, yet even then, it seems the band had a clear goal in mind: an ambitious and cinematic debut LP.

Now in October 2024, that vision has been realised with the band’s extensive full-length, ‘To The City’. Clocking in at just over fifty whole minutes, Occasional Dreams have used their vision of music for journeys to construct a vast record that explores fractured relationships, moving on, and what or where home truly even is.

Taking heavy inspiration from heartland rock, shoegaze, and ambient, Occasional Dreams weave their influences around a steady and solid indie rock core to construct a sound both nostalgic and modern. Subtly catchy melodic hooks are interspersed between shimmering soundscapes that stretch out far in front of the listener.

From the outset, this musics modus operandi remains consistent in both tone and quality, each track feeding wonderfully into the next as vocalist Oskar Christensen sings of yearning for a future far from his past. The album sweeps up through dreamy soundscapes such as ‘Fever Dream’ and ‘To The City’, and drives itself forwards through catchy upbeat moments such as ‘Shimmer In Your Eye’.

It is ‘Taken Away’, however, that serves not only the most spectacular offering here, but the centrepiece around which the rest of the album rotates. Boldly stretching past the nine minute mark, this is when Occasional Dreams sound their most realised. Weaving their heartland rock sensibilities with truly beautiful moments of country-flecked ambience, the reverb soaked harmonicas echoing against vague suggestions of guitars makes for a cinematic moment of pure wonderment.

From here out, you can truly grasp a sense of acknowledgment from Christensen that the outer world can only change so much; journeying with the same baggage will ultimately never provide the change that truly matters, although that journey can be the catalyst needed for introspection. It makes for a wonderfully human transition from a youthful rebellious drive for freedom at all costs, to a more mature yet no less free-spirited appreciation that change can come from unexpected places.

’To The City’ makes for an engaging and cinematic listen, and is certain to be a superb foundation from which Occasional Dreams can build from. This is a band that possesses a real sense of artistic vision and drive, and their capacity for capturing the human spirit in such a sparkling, sweeping manner is truly quite magical.

RATING: 76/100 – Mostly Very Good

For Fans Of: Phil Collins, Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, Jeff Buckley,

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify