Photos: Saoirse Dream Releases GRIMDARK Album via Lauren Records

Portland-based hyperpop-emo artist Saoirse Dream has released a new album, grimdark, out now via Lauren Records. The eight-song record is described as a blistering exploration of grief, rage, transness, and speculative collapse. Taking an archivist's approach to the end of the world, the album pushes Catherine Egbert's project into heavier, grittier territory, trading the shimmering electronics of her earlier work for towering guitars, distortion, and some of her most unflinching songwriting yet.

On focus track 'sunflower,' Saoirse Dream finds meaning in fleeting connections, exploring the incongruity of love without a future. Densely arranged around a simple melody, the song's refrain takes the form of a disjointed, cyclical poem that builds upon itself without ever reaching catharsis. As the narrator searches for fulfillment in a whirlwind affair, the track spirals deeper into itself, tracing the negative space of a future that must ultimately be left behind.

Things are bad, and they've only been getting worse for a while now: an expanding capitalist regime, a regressive transphobic culture, and a community that feels as though it's buckling under the weight of it all. At some point, Saoirse Dream forgot what it felt like for things to get better. Accustomed to the slow decline and societal backsliding around her, Egbert found herself tipping headfirst into the apocalyptic patterns of thought that plague her generation.

grimdark emerged from that headspace. Across eight tracks, the album embraces a strikingly grittier sonic palette, with the effervescent electronics of Saoirse Dream's earlier work swallowed by a leviathan of despondency and distortion. Through visionary experimental production and unflinching lyricism, grimdark wrestles with a central question: What does it mean to make speculative art in an era where so many of us struggle to imagine things improving?

Tracklist

death vs dying

killer bees

dolled up (feat. Left at London, Estelle Allen, leastfavorite)

sunflower

onlooker

speechless

if someone like me will do

grimdark

Saoirse Dream will tour across the US Midwest/East Coast with Anita Velveeta this month, followed by a run of European dates with Estelle Allen in November. They will also support Fraxiom at Swan Dive in Portland on November 25.

Tour Dates

WITH Anita Velveeta

10/16 - Minneapolis, MN @ New World

10/17 - Milwaukee, WI @ MKeUltra

10/18 - Detroit, MI @ Rowdy House

10/20 - New York, NY @ Night Club 101

10/22 - Philadelphia, PA @ Ukie Club

10/23 - Washington, DC @ Comet Ping Pong

10/24 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Roboto Project

10/25 - Chicago, IL @ Not Not

WITH Estelle Allen

11/4 - Paris, FR @ FGO Barbara

11/11 - Bristol, UK @ Loco Klub

11/13 - London, UK @ Signature Brew Haggerston

11/15 - Manchester, UK @ Rebellion

11/17 - Glasgow, UK @ Mono

11/20 - Dublin, IE @ Daylight

11/21 - Belfast, UK @ The Barge

SUPPORTING Fraxiom

11/25 - Portland, OR @ Swan Dive

About Saoirse Dream

Equally at home in a hardcore basement show in Iowa or a warehouse furry rave in Seattle, Saoirse Dream is the hyperpop-project-turned-emo-band of artist Catherine Egbert. For years, Egbert's virtuosic production chops and innate pop sensibilities have earned her place as a cult-beloved star of the online hyperpop scene.

Since releasing her self-titled record in February of last year, Egbert and her band have played more than 80 shows across North America and Europe. Cutting their teeth on the DIY touring circuit, the ensemble has been featured on lineups with emo and hyperpop mainstays alike, including Anamanaguchi, Food House, Michael Cera Palin, your arms are my cocoon, stomach book, and more.

Photo Credit: Ethernet Wang