Reverist - Dreaming Onward

Reverist

Dreaming Onward
​self-released; 2016

3.6 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Omar Qazi, Steve Addington, Matthew Walsh and Cooper Johansen are Reverist. The band hailing from Florida released their first EP entitled Dreaming Onward. As the story goes Qazi was an undergrad studying to be a doctor and during his downtime away from the books picked up the guitar and piano. One thing led to another and his passion for music led him to find like-minded individuals to play the poppy, synth-based songs on Dreaming Onward.

Dreaming Onward is an extremely well produced EP with radio ready songs. I wouldn’t be all that surprised to hear one of these songs on the FM dial.

The EP doesn’t waste time with introductions. “Superhero” has some similarities to bands like Keane as well as M83. Huge sounding lead synths fill up the frequency spectrum right off the band only to dissipate and be replaced with soft pads once the singing starts. An arpeggiated synth line appears picking up the energy once again. “Superhero” is a solid opener. Nothing too out of the ordinary and it feels more apt to reside in the mainstream than the underground.

“Machinery” is another success. This song has a carefree dance vibe not too far off from a band like Passion Pit or Cut Copy. The synths during the verse feel playful as the kick drum keeps the momentum going. “About the Past” utilizes more huge sound synths, catchy vocal melodies and palatable textures and tones."

Then we get to “They Are Weak, But We Are Strong” which has a slight ‘50s vibe. The piano and horns are the major elements besides the vocals. They pull it off and I liked the vibe of the song. The title track is arguably the most single worthy of the batch; Kudos to the drummer here for some sick hi-hat work.

Dreaming Onward isn’t breaking any barriers or doing anything that hasn't been done before. That being said the delivery is consistently good and the songs are well crafted.

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