By Anita Stewart, Managing Editor
New Album Release: “Disappear. Reappear.”
Release Date: September 24, 2021
Knoxville’s Rough Dreams formed in 2018 by Jake Jones, the guitarist and vocalist for the band. The rest of the band is Chris Suggs on guitar and vocals, Matt Isbell on bass and drummer Paul Lowe. The band also recruited a few extras: ex-Swellers vocalist, Nick Diener and Whitechapel guitarist Zach Householder to help engineer what would become the band’s debut and critically acclaimed EP, 2019’s self-titled “Rough Dreams.”
The band’s genre fluctuates between grunge, shoegaze, alternative and punk and in the process of playing and doing live shows, they have developed their own unique sound. The band supported their debut recording by going on tour and gaining their fan base. During their travels they eventually got spotted by 59 X Records from Atlanta.
The 2021 singles “Termites Hollow” and “Cursed at The Sun” would follow their first recording and the subsequent tour and the lock-downs of 2020. The band took to the great outdoors for the release of latest video “Desert Ghosts” that is on the latest full-length LP, “Disappear. Reappear.”
Some favorites were “Falling Stars,” loved the lyrics. “First Life Crisis” was also a stand out, an perfect example of a straight up punk song. The “Disappear” and “Reappear” songs functioned as the intro and the outro of the album. “Past Lives” was more of a contemplative song and was at a slightly slower tempo. Loved the song and the video for the song “Desert Ghosts;” with a great lyrical line, capturing hooks and superb guitar. The video for this song reminded me of a Western short film. “Challenger.86-Scavengers.” is the longest song, over eight minutes and shows off each artist’s musical skills.
Rock at Night says: “This is modern punk rock at it’s finest! At the same time, the band pays homage to punk rock artists of the past and major influences such as: Chuck Ragan, Alkaline Trio and The Menzingers. This band is gaining traction from the energy of their live shows and this energy can definitely be heard and felt on this recording as well. Check it out!“
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