Patterns: Waking Lines — Album Review — Distorted Dreampop Depths

Patterns: Waking Lines — Album Review

Distorted Dreampop Depths

Distant distortion, synths and layers of falsetto create the dreamy fog that opens the first track of Waking Lines, the new album by Patterns.

The Manchester group’s debut album is a synthpop dreamscape that Two Door Cinema Club or M83 would be proud to call their lovechild, if only they could have conceived it.

Intensity can be found beneath the layered voices and synthesizer sea, with guitars that sing through murky distortion and drums that keep the listener from drowning in the sound.
“This Haze” is coloured next by “Blood”, the radio friendly track that has a chorus worthy of play after play. What follows “Blood” is a series of tracks that drive forward but don’t quite reach the status of single song repeat.

But that’s not a bad thing.

This is an album that is carefully paced, with gentle undulations between soft soundscapes and rougher tremolo seas. Induction is a particularly rocking track that just screams extended encore track for a live show.

I’ve listened to it over and over again today.

It had me run down my street to the bus to the drive of the first two tracks, settling into the ride with eyes half closed as the synths took over, keeping me on the edge of the dream. I was in a space of motion, not being put to sleep by the album, but pulled just far enough away from wakefulness to hear the emotion and strength of musicianship.

This is a strong debut from Patterns, and a great album to nod your head to while humming in falsetto.