Someone Called Sarah - Summer Snow Globe (2024) Hi-Res

I guess the clue is in the name; it’s always been pretty obvious, but even so, the term “dream-pop” seems to encompass a broad spectrum of music, music garnered across a broad spectrum, from the fringes of shoegaze to the ambient synthy dance creations of the chill-out room at the alternative nightclub.

But for me, “Lesson” is nothing less than the epitome of the dream pop sound, a song built on accessible, cascading guitars and ethereal vocals. And more than that, Someone Called Sarah’s take on the sound incorporates gentle indie-folk fusions, drifting atmospheres, chiming sonics, and enough space for everything to have enough room to breathe.

Whilst this is a song with a big sonic heart, it is also one with a head on its dreamy shoulders, here musing on how we all too often return to romantic situations that are not good for us, how despite knowing what we are stepping into, we return anyway, how, when the heart rules the head, as it often does in such scenarios, we never learn the lesson we should.

And as a taste of her latest album, Summer Snow Globe, as a toe in the water for us to test the themes and sounds of that more extended listening experience, this is as close to a perfect calling card as you could hope for.