Peel Dream Magazine is the musical vehicle for NYC's Joe Stevens, who launched the band in 2018 with the critically acclaimed album "Modern Meta Physic." With it Stevens created a mysterious, liminal tribute to the hazy end of ‘90s dream-pop – a masterful mix of first-class songwriting precision and train-window sonic impressionism that duly found its place on numerous "Best of 2018" lists.

After 18 months of writing and live shows with a shifting cast of band members, Peel Dream are back with "Agitprop Alterna," an album that pushes the group's dreamy, motorik-heavy sound to a deeply melodic and beautifully discordant place. The album pays homage to a strain of mod-ish U.K. pop that spans early My Bloody Valentine and Talulah Gosh, up through early Stereolab, Belle & Sebastian, and even Broadcast. It's also indebted to stateside pop bands that were cut from a similar cloth -- Rocketship, Lilys, Yo La Tengo, and even "Nevermind"-era Nirvana.

Where the creation of "Modern Meta Physic" was a solitary pursuit, "Agitprop Alterna" found Stevens channeling the collaborative spirit of the band's ever-rotating live incarnation in the studio. The album is ultimately defined by the tension of difference: between itself and its predecessor; intertwined male-female vocals; the music's languid dreaminess and concrete sonic immediacy.

Deeply rooted in the Brechtian ideas of art as a tool to spur action, "Agitprop Alterna" deepens the connection between the existential and the interpretive first explored on "Modern Meta Physic," giving the listener space to find their own meaning in shimmering guitars, fuzzed-out synths, and buzzing organ drones. It is a rejection of manipulation in all its forms and a buzzsaw against complacency – soft-focus pop whose clear-cut message is that you get to decide the message. It's a rare trick to agitate without being obvious: perhaps that makes "Agitprop Alterna" the most Peel Dream Magazine-like statement yet.

Agitprop Alterna

Agitprop Altern

Peel Dream Magazine - Emotional Devotion Creator

Dig Nitty's debut album "Reverse of Mastery" is due out September 18th via Exploding In Sound Records.

Dig Nitty - Small Curd

Knot's self-titled full length debut is out August 28th via Exploding In Sound Records

Knot - The World

Knot - Foam

Out July3rd on Slumberland Records/Tough Love Records.

Moral Panics

Peel Dream Magazine - Verfremdungseffekt

NYC's Peel Dream Magazine dazzled listeners with their recent release "Agitprop Alterna," a smart album that draws from a wide set of post-punk, shoegaze and indiepop influences but still has an assured, unique sound. Now they're following up with "Moral Panics," a companion EP that features unreleased songs from the "Agitprop Alterna" sessions. Far from being outtakes, these are all songs that stand strong on their own, and gathered together function as a useful corollary to the album. Songs like "New Culture," "Verfremdungseffekt" and "Life At The Movies" continue Peel Dream's investigations into those frought areas where art, culture and commerce meet. Bristling with both ideas and solid tunes, the EP as a whole comprises a crucial piece of the band's discography.

Peel Dream Magazine - New Culture

From 'Flower Of Devotion' a new record from Dehd out on Fire Talk July 17th 2020.

Buy: ffm.to/dehdforever

Flower Of Devotion

Dehd - Flying

https://explodinginsoundrecords.bandcamp.com/album/all-purpose

Miranda Winters - Double Mirror Light

There's A Ghost / Alice

There's A Ghost

From Dark Tea's Sophomore self titled album out in April on Fire Talk. 

Pre Order: https://ffm.to/darktea