“Dream On,” the debut album from Belgian DIY indie artist Nikki Roger is as intimate and beautifully tragic as a bundle of handwritten letters someone slid under your door. The record was made entirely by Roger in a small room above a garage, and you can hear the room itself breathing in the background, with all the air and floorboards, all folded into the lo-fi textures. The album sits between melancholy and hope, with the warmth of family life and the ache of memory, stitched together by guitars that glow like late-afternoon light and vocals that never pretend to be cleaner or sharper than they really are. Roger is making it out like, “It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to exist” in every moment here. It recalls the scrappy charm of 90s indie while still speaking in a very present voice.
“Dream On,” the opening track, sets the tone immediately. The soundscape is vivid and soothing, with a pulsing, jittery percussion shaking underneath fast, catchy drums. Roger’s rich voice floats over the whole thing with a soft echo, treating the busy arrangement like a river he’s learned to drift across. It comes energising and strangely calming, like a dreamy headspace built from small pieces moving in fast motion.
By “Look At Your Mother,” the album slides into darker waters. A hypnotic, dark guitar riff coils around the opening bars before the vocals enter in that trance-inducing delivery. The drums hit harder here, as it gives the whole thing a swaggering heaviness. When the chorus bursts open, his voice soars high and raw, riding over shimmering guitars, thudding beats and backing vocals wailing like distant sirens. He sings, “Take a good look at your mom / She’s doing the best she can to make your future bright,” with the weight of something simple and true that we all forget too often.
The closer, “Ride Along,” threads the album’s themes together. Bustling beats and jittery percussion return, this time met with melodic, shimmering guitars. Roger sings the choral refrain with a mystical lilt, as he shapes the track into something theatrical and haunting. His rich voice leans into that mysticism, giving the song the feel of an intriguing invitation.
Listen to the honest magic of “Dream On” on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan