ANCHR Magazine

Holding you down with the best new music

Filtering by Tag: Dream Version

Premiere: Dream Version's "A Mind Can Change"

Dream Version is Alec Harryhausen, Eric Brummit and Michael Kunik

Dream Version is Alec Harryhausen, Eric Brummit and Michael Kunik

Chicago three-piece Dream Version has always been an ANCHR favorite, thanks to their infectious energy during their live performances and their tendency to push their creative boundaries. That’s why this week, we’re honored to be premiering the brand new video for their single “A Mind Can Change,” from their upcoming self-titled album.

Dream Version says that for their third album, they’ve decided to take a moment to simply inhabit the space they’ve created— calling upon their two mantras of “Don’t waste time” and “Don’t condescend.” Throughout the span of time between this record and 2017’s Fight Fair, the trio has experienced marriage, divorce, relocation, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The band says, “The result is a looser set of songs that represents everything we like and everything we’re capable of.  We decided to name it after ourselves.”

Elaborating on the new single “A Mind Can Change,” Alec Harryhausen says the inspiration stems from his fundamentally cynical attitude. He adds, “A lot of the story of this album started with me looking up at a dirty ceiling fan in my apartment and thinking, ‘That’s just the way life is; the ceiling fan’s dirty and I’ll never have the time or energy to clean it.’  The notion that it can take about 30 seconds to solve a problem like that, believe it or not, has been kind of revolutionary.  It was a fundamental part of my world view that most problems are facts of life, and even that we as a species might not deserve to have clean ceiling fans.”

From there, he began to shift his own mindset and to rewire his perspective. That fresh outlook, coupled with Harryhausen’s appreciation for Plastic Ono Band, led to him working through his demo of “A Mind Can Change” with bandmates Eric Brummit and Michael Kunik to build out the dynamics of it and keep it interesting for the whole run time. “It was a challenge for us to play this slow; we had to practice it a lot,” the band says.

For the music video, Dream Version worked with director Patrick Betzold, who had some experience doing animated work at his job and wanted to try it in a more ambitious way. As the band describes it, the video tells the story of 3 astronauts leaving behind a dead planet and trying to find a new one.

Watch the video below, and be sure to pre-order the self-titled album ahead of its July 30th release date here, or snag a ticket to the record release show to pick up a copy in person!

PREMIERE: "Something Teenage" Video by Dream Version

Today we’re bringing you the first look at the video for Dream Version’s latest single “Something Teenage.” The trio from Chicago has an unwavering knack for crafting fun and catchy tunes that are guaranteed to get stuck in your head or get you dancing, and “Something Teenage” achieves both.

Dream Version performing at ANCHR’s September Showcase

Dream Version performing at ANCHR’s September Showcase

Although the lyrics read as a love letter, lead singer and guitarist Alec Jensen says it was not written for a romantic interest. “It's a love song for Iggy Pop, and references some things he said in this John Peel lecture,” Jensen clarifies. “In general it's supposed to be about the way I listened to music in high school, and how exciting it is now when something hits me that viscerally. Usually, it's nothing particularly smart or highbrow. Blah Blah Blah is a super glossy, plastic 80s record Iggy made with Bowie, and it's singing in the shower music.  ‘Something Teenage’ sounds more like Yo La Tengo than Iggy, but it's our little love letter,” he adds.

The video, shot and directed by local musician Emily Jane Powers, captures the buoyant energy of the track as it cuts back and forth between the band members enjoying a carefree, summer day at Montrose Beach and performing the track. Talking about the inspiration behind the video, Jensen says, “I came to Emily with the idea of basically doing the ‘Can't Buy Me Love’ sequence from Hard Day's Night,” adding that they wanted the video to focus in on the friendship between himself and bandmates Eric Brummitt and Michael Kunik. “Emily did a great job. She made us seem really funny, which is good, because we, like, are.”

Now that you know the backstory, get your first look at the video below!

Keep up with Dream Version on Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

New Music Friday 7/7

SO much new music out today, including albums from HAIM, Dream Version, and Broken Social Scene. Wolf Alice, Honne, and Urban Cone all have singles out this week as well. Tune in now!

Wolf Alice- "Don't Delete The Kisses"

Urban Cone- "Pumping Up Clouds"

Joywave- "Going To A Place"

LÈON- "Surround Me"

Skela- "Hella"

Future Generations- "One More Problem"

 

Honne- "Just Dance"

 

To Kill a King-The Good Old Days (acoustic EP)

Jade Bird- Something American EP

Dream Version- Fight Fair

Broken Social Scene- Hug of Thunder

This Is The Kit- Moonshine Freeze

The Technicolors- Metaphysical

 

Haim- Something To Tell You

Playlist: Dream Version Exclusive for ANCHR

Tomorrow is the day! Our pals Dream Version are releasing their new album called Fight Fair. To celebrate, the Chicago trio made us an exclusive playlist. Listen to it and check out what they had to say about the songs they selected below!

Thumbnail image courtesy of Dream Version

1.  Yes Sir, No Sir / The Kinks

2.  Yo-Yo / Pylon

3.  Scared Straight / The Long Winters

4.  No Bulbs (single version) / The Fall

5.  Ping Pong Affair / The Slits

6.  The Glittering Prizes / Television Personalities

7.  Goldilocks Zone / Grass Widow

8.  We Are Underused / Pavement

9.  Flower Gardens / Chad VanGaalen

10.  Like A Prayer / Madonna

Songs about various flavors of fear (1,3,9)

Songs about the costs of deferring to authority (1,6)

Songs about continuing to play a game you know is rigged (2,6,8)

Songs that are just cool sonic influences (4,5)

Songs about weird religious themes (7,10)


Make sure you also grab a ticket to see Dream Version this Saturday night at Lincoln Hall for their special album release show. Tickets start at $10 and you can buy there here. 


Can't get enough Dream Version? Check out our interview with them