Julia Reidy’s debut on the Emotions Mego label consists of two pieces, averaging 17 minutes each, of steadily shifting and unpredictable soundscaping that feels like an inversion of dream-pop. Whilst there’s the wistful vocals, strung-out notes and slow atmospherics that are decidedly mellow at times, it’s undercut, very severely, by darker drones, toothy electronics and elements that feel like they’ve been sequestered from the fringes of prog rock. It’s a recipe that feels unfamiliar, and sometimes quite uncomfortable.

In second piece “Oh Boy”, this contrast is sometimes quite stark- the twisty distorted electric guitar noises that fall away to be replaced by a folksy acoustic guitar riff around the six minute mark as an example. Overall it is slightly calmer and more spacious than first piece “Clairvoyant”, which features more stuttering and production touches, as well as an interesting line in stop-start use of environmental found sound and thin-sounding percussive acoustic noises.

So it’s dream-pop with edge, but it would be misleading to call it nightmare-pop by any stretch. Unsettled dream pop, maybe? The kind of music you don’t want to fall asleep to, you want to stay awake to listen to.

The digital release is August 14th, but physical copies will be available in September.