Dream Bodies, the solo vessel for scene veteran Steven Fleet, is back with “Dead Air,” and it’s a masterpiece of melancholic, witchy darkwave that not only sets a mood—it becomes the mood.
Dream Bodies is Fleet’s relatively new solo outing, but don’t let “new” fool you. The man has been in the trenches, playing with members of bands like Magic Wands and sharing stages with legends like The Chameleons. He’s no tourist; he’s a lifer, and that depth shows every second of this track. “Dead Air” is the project’s seventh single, and it feels like the fully realised pinnacle of everything he’s been building towards.
This is a wake. “Dead Air” is a “lovelorn crooner” for the broken-hearted, a meditation on the suffocating silence that follows a breakup. The lyrics are incantations of pain. “Tonight in my head a dial tone / My bed empty as the phone”. That’s the opening salvo, and it sets the stage for a midnight drive through a desert of regret. Fleet’s voice is a haunted, melodic baritone, perfectly capturing the wistful, wanting, and funereal vibe. He’s not screaming; he’s elegantly drowning, and you’re right there with him.
As a solo project, every layer of this is woven by Fleet himself. He’s the architect, the blacksmith, the vibe-lord. He’s the one programming those sombre synth sequences and carving out those reverb-drenched guitar lines that feel both ancient and urgently modern. There’s no band to hide behind; this is a pure, undistilled vision.
“Dead Air” is confirmation, if any was needed, that Dream Bodies is a force in the darkwave scene. It’s not trying to reinvent the wheel; it’s polishing the classic goth wheel to a perfect, obsidian shine. It’s for anyone who’s ever stared at a silent phone, feeling the weight of a thousand unsaid words. It’s heartbreak, distilled into incense and foggy night. Press play, and let the silence speak.