Velveteen Dive Deeper Into the Noise on My Dreams Are Changing
For several years, London quartet Velveteen have quietly occupied a space within the British underground where shoegaze, noise rock, dream pop and post punk collide in a haze of distortion and atmosphere. Never interested in chasing trends or polishing their sound into something easily digestible, the band have steadily developed an identity built on overwhelming guitar textures, submerged melodies and a willingness to embrace the more abrasive side of alternative music.
Following a period of relative silence after the release of Empty Crush in 2022, Velveteen returned to the studio in 2025 with renewed focus and ambition. The result is My Dreams Are Changing, a six track EP released on June 12, 2026 through Noon Records that feels like the most complete realization of the band's vision to date.
Comprised of Drew Younger, David Thomson, Patrick Malins and James Nolan, the group continue to draw heavily from the British shoegaze tradition while pushing their sound into rougher and more confrontational territory.
At a time when many contemporary shoegaze bands lean heavily toward dream pop elegance and pristine atmospheres, Velveteen choose a different path. Their music embraces distortion, feedback and sonic overload. The guitars rarely sit quietly in the background. Instead, they dominate the landscape, expanding outward into towering walls of noise that often feel as important as the melodies themselves.
Yet what makes My Dreams Are Changing so compelling is that beneath all the saturation and chaos lies a strong melodic core. The band understand that the most effective noise is often built around memorable songs, and throughout the EP they consistently balance texture with emotional resonance.
Written collectively and later mixed and mastered by Anthony Chapman, the EP captures a group fully committed to its aesthetic. Every track feels dense and immersive, with layers of guitar constantly shifting and colliding. Vocals are intentionally buried within the mix, functioning less as a focal point and more as another instrument woven into the overall soundscape.
The title track My Dreams Are Changing serves as a perfect introduction to the record. Opening the EP, it immediately establishes the band's current identity. Guitars stretch in every direction while distant vocals drift through the mix like half remembered thoughts. The result is simultaneously dreamlike and claustrophobic, creating an atmosphere that feels suspended somewhere between comfort and unease.
One of the most striking aspects of the EP is the way Velveteen use contrast. While the surface is often dominated by noise and distortion, moments of beauty constantly emerge from beneath the turbulence. Songs reveal themselves gradually rather than immediately, rewarding repeated listening.
Shoot Me Down highlights the band's more melodic instincts. Beneath its layers of reverb and feedback lies one of the strongest songs on the record, with traces of classic alternative songwriting emerging through the haze. Some listeners may hear echoes of The Velvet Underground or Mazzy Star filtered through a contemporary shoegaze lens, though Velveteen ultimately remain committed to their own distinctive voice.
Another Somewhere and Unanswered further demonstrate the band's ability to balance aggression with atmosphere. Both tracks allow the melodies a little more breathing room while still maintaining the thick layers of guitar noise that define the EP's overall character.
Midway through the record, A Fool's Paradise introduces a subtle shift in mood. Featuring guest vocals from Sabrina Lefebvre, the track provides one of the EP's most atmospheric moments. The additional vocal texture broadens the emotional palette without disrupting the project's cohesion, offering a brief moment of reflection amid the surrounding intensity.
Closing track Untitled 103 acts as the final descent into Velveteen's world of drifting noise and blurred emotion. Rather than delivering a dramatic conclusion, the song gradually dissolves into layers of texture and feedback, leaving the listener suspended within the same fog that has surrounded the EP from the very beginning.
What makes My Dreams Are Changing particularly effective is its refusal to compromise. The EP does not attempt to make shoegaze more accessible or commercially appealing. Instead, Velveteen embrace the genre's most immersive and overwhelming qualities while retaining enough melody to prevent the music from becoming impenetrable.
There are moments that recall the pioneers of British shoegaze, but the band avoid simple nostalgia. Their sound feels heavier, rougher and more informed by noise rock than many of their contemporaries. The result is a record that feels rooted in tradition while still possessing its own identity.
With My Dreams Are Changing, Velveteen deliver their strongest and most fully realized release so far. Dense, atmospheric and unapologetically loud, the EP captures a band confidently embracing the tension between beauty and noise.
A short but powerful collection of songs where dream pop fragility, post punk darkness and walls of shoegaze distortion merge into something immersive, hypnotic and deeply affecting.
© Thusblog
Listen on Qobuz (Hi-res 24 bit)
