Triple Feature: Phase Transition, Dream A View, Soda Blonde

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Phase Transition is a band out of Portugal. They released their debut album In Search of Being today, June 6^th, and I think it shows potential. The band includes Socia Beco on vocals and violin, Luís Dias on guitar, and Fernando Maia on drums.

I’ll get straight to the point. This is a band still trying to figure out their sound. There are only five songs on the album, so it’s closer to an EP, and the songs have mixed quality. The band plays progressive metal, but it’s clearly influenced by classical music, and the metal aspects range from alternative to technical. Sofia has a great voice, though sometimes it seems like she is still finding her strengths, and the guitar work is particularly hefty and thrilling.

I’ll come right out and say that the opening track “Dichotomy” is the weakest, by far. It feels like they don’t know what to do with most of the song, though the guitars in the chorus are pretty strong. And it sounds even weaker when “Becoming, (R)evolution” hits as hard as it does. The guitars, rhythms, and chorus sound worlds ahead of the opener, and I can’t get enough of it; the next song “Veil of Illusions” is just as good, too. I like this one for its whimsical vocals and rock solid hook. The last couple songs are both solid, from the heartfelt “Shadows of Grief” to the meaty “The Other Side”; the closer hits us in the face with harsh vox for the first time on the album, which feels a little out of nowhere, but they sound good, and the rest of the song features some instrumental power that ends the album well.

Phase Transition are young and still finding themselves, what works and what doesn’t. I think they show deep potential here, and I think leaning more into the violin aspect could be their path forward.

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Dream A View is a duo out of Maine. They released their first album Always on March 1^st, and I’ve really been enjoying it. Their names are Bill Smith (synth, drums, programming) and Eric Hov (vocals, guitars, synth). They also bring with them guest vocalist Halley Elwell.

The music here is a cross between New Wave style pop rock and synthwave/electronic. The electronica is lush and will sweep you away to far-off places, and the synthwave sounds will make you dream of cosmic spaces. The meat of their sound, though, is Eric’s hyper melodic vocals and delicious choruses.

The album has six songs, and they are all good to great. I’ll say, though, that the mix could use some work. Anyways, right off the bat we get three excellent songs, “Chapel”, spacious and gorgeous; “Dive”, sweeping and extremely infectious; and “Celeste”, one that matches its name with how celestial and ethereal it sounds. I will say that the first half of the album is the stronger of the two, though “Vapor” is spacey and beautiful, “Damage” is stylish, and “Always” is soulful and sweeping. The album hovers in dreamy spaces and you honestly don’t want to leave.

Dream A View have combined two enchanting genres, New Wave and synthwave, and I really want to hear more. This seems like the kind of project that will evolve and only become stronger with each release.

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Ireland’s Soda Blonde are back with an EP called People Pleaser, which they released back on May 9^th. The band includes Faye O’Rourke on vocals and keys, Adam O’Regan on guitars and keys, Donagh Seaver O’Leary on bass, and Dylan Lynch on drums and percussion. All of them sing in some capacity, as well.

You may remember their 2023 record Dream Big, which I still listen to often. There’s just something about their classy, bouncy, passionate pop rock sound that I like. Faye has a deeply conversational style of singing, and so it injects authenticity and relatability into the music.

This EP has five songs and they are all good. My favorites are definitely “People Pleaser” and “The Saddest Thing”, both incredibly catchy songs with some starkly honest lyrics that I appreciate. “The Queen of Mercy” and “Words” are maybe a hair less immediate, but they’re growing on me with their quirky little accents and even melancholy vibes. The closer “Live and Let Down” is great, especially the last few minutes with Faye’s vocal inflections and the lively rhythms.

This is a great EP from Soda Blonde. I do feel like the overall arc of the release makes the first two songs really, really stand out as the strongest part. The last three songs are definitely a notch lower than those two, but they’re all good, warm, and inviting.