Bristol-based band Dreamweapon have conjured up a fusion of “chaotic rage jingles” in a loud but captivating rock sound that they describe as “mega, mint and occasionally gentle.”
The band started out as one man, becoming two, then three, before arriving on the current quintet drawn from “various hoods and villages out of the misty hills of England.” Now using Bristol as a home base, the lineup is led by vocalist and bassist Danny ‘Dwells’ Garland (formerly of Phoxjaw), alongside guitarists and vocalists Rory Bevis and Omar M’saouri (previously of The King Is Dead), synth, keys and vocalist Oliver Harvey and drummer Aiden Baldwin (from bands like Askari, Passengers and Blanket).
And on the sound they’ve crafted, Danny told us: “It’s hard to tell, as I feel we are still working that one out. But it’s certainly intense from one moment and then glimmering in something delicate the next. A monster truck covered in petals.”
Our first taste of this is Dreamweapon’s debut single Scarecrow Army, which was released at the end of October. It starts out with slightly creepy little synth sounds that drop into a deliciously thick slab of guitars and driving drums with echoey pulses, giving way to Danny’s engaging and recognisable vocals. That flows into a big atmospheric chorus led by echoey vocals and driving guitars, ending with stabs of guitar that flow into a repeating guitar riff.
The pace drops with a piercing synth under laid-back vocals, before flying into another lively chorus. That drops into edgy repeating guitars and synths, dropping into a cool stabbing guitar riff over sireny-sounding synths that build up to a final blast of the chorus. Engaging vocals and a piercing synth conclude the track, giving way to instrumentals that wind away to an end.
On the track, Danny said: “It’s given us a lot of joy to finally release this song as we were sat on this material for over a year – it feels like the perfect omen for the birth of this project. Its chaotic chorus is the siren for new days. This band will go in many directions and will shift many patterns. This one is quite stroboscopic.”
The Dreamweapon draws on the band members’ wide range of musical and creative influences. For example, Danny tells us he’s hooked on the band Swans, while Omar is a big fan of bands like The Garden and Cocteau Twins and Oliver mainly draws influence from Warhammer. Aiden takes most of his influence from drummers Abe Cunningham (Deftones) and Mario Duplantier (Gojira), and Rory largely pulls on his love of Jeff Buckley.
And on what inspires them to write music, Danny explains: “We want to create some escapism, and we hope we can take you there in the moments of our music. We have discussed travelling to record and play in the future. Oh what a thing it would be to bang on the drums of the Congo.”
Dreamweapon plan to release their second single Locus Pocus next Friday (12 December). They’ll also be making their live debut at The Louisiana in Bristol the following Tuesday (16 December), with tickets available here.
And Danny added: “We hope you’re ready as we have plenty more to come. Keep your eyes peeled for some exciting news in 2026. To play with friends and to create art is what it’s all about for us now – to create together in our eccentric gloopy cluster.”
You can follow Dreamweapon on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube.
Image credit: Nix Boulton
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