ALBUM REVIEW: Des Rocs – ‘Dream Machine’

Des Rocs is becoming a more prominent name in the world of modern rock music. With his unique style and raw voice, he’s capturing a lot of attention. Two years after the release of his debut album A Real Good Person In A Real Bad Place, he’s back with his second album: Dream Machine. The album was released on 25 August 2023.

Some of the nine tracks have been released as singles before, so in that sense, we’ve already had a sort of preview of what his new album would bring. When I listened to the singles, I knew this album would be something different than the first one.

The album starts with the title track Dream Machine. The four-and-a-half-minute song begins with a bit of acapella from the singer, which then transitions into the rest of the song. The song reminds me a little of “Highway Tune” by Greta Van Fleet. This title track immediately makes you want to take a ride yourself.

After the opening, the album continues with the songs I Am The Lightning, White Gold, and Nowhere Kid.
I Am The Lightning starts off with an awesome guitar riff. The riff that initially was part of Never Ending Moment but didn’t make it to the track. After Rocs returned home from tour he made a loop that became I Am The Lightning. The song really gives off a sense of empowerment. Overall, it’s a really great song with a good build-up. It also gives off the vibe that it could work well as a track in a movie.

I Am The Lightning is followed by White Gold, which, in my opinion, isn’t a particularly remarkable song on this album. The song has a good build-up, just like most songs of this album but, It doesn’t have a lot of lyrics and is my least favorite song of the album. That’s why we quickly move on to Nowhere Kid, one of the shorter tracks on the album. The lyric ‘’I don’t belong here And I never did’’, at the beginning of this song makes it clear that it’s written for those who consider themselves outsiders. The relatable lyrics and the rebellious rhythm are a great match in this song, After a somewhat more rebellious track, we find Never Ending Moment. With 2 million streams on Spotify, this is the most streamed song from the album. I completely understand why. I think this might be my favourite of all the nine songs. The song starts with an acoustic guitar and after a few seconds, more instruments and vocals are added. When the drums kick in, we briefly hear Rocs’ raw voice introducing the first verse. This track revolves around the desire to hold onto special moments and freeze them in time.

Following this song, we move on to Bad Blood. This song has a great dark and intense undertone. It makes the song more mysterious than the rest of the album. Despite several songs on this album carrying a dark undertone, Bad Blood has a different vibe to it, a vibe that to me is reminiscing of the classic rock sound from the ’70s and ’80s.

Natural Born Thriller has a different style than most of the tracks on this album. The beginning gives off country vibes, which then transition into rock, which goes back and forth throughout the song. It’s a nice twist on the album, something I didn’t expect. Before we approach the end of the album, we have In The Night to transition into the calmness of the final track. This one is notably calmer than the rest of the album. The softness and dark tones of the intro immediately create a sense of tension. Similar to Never Ending Moment, the song starts with a guitar, and this time, Des Rocs softly initiates the song before the emotional chorus begins.

Des Rocs closes the album with the acoustic song Up to You. With Up To You, you can really hear Rocs vocal strength. This acoustic love song, in my opinion, serves as a perfect ending for the album.

With this album, Des Rocs has musically revealed another facet of himself. I’m curious about what he will bring in the future. Dream Machine is now available for listening on every streaming platform. So, check it out!