A Present for those who are present

Jeromes Dream - "The Gray in Between"
Label: Iodine Records

It's always a "feel good story" when a seasoned, beloved band returns to form. When JEROMES DREAM came back in 2019 with their "LP" the disappointment was quite huge. It's not like the record was utter bullshit, but they took some decisions that didn't resonate well with their core-audience. Somehow they must've rebooted theirselves before going into their sophomore album "The Gray in Between". They clinged to their strengths of the past and now delivered a record that I'd call "perfect fan service". 

"The Gray in Between" basically gives you everything that you ever loved about JEROMES DREAM. The beautifully distorted, howling guitars, the gloomy mood, the heavy screaming attacks, the apocalyptic melodies and last not least vocals that are quite similar to their original style. The vocals probably was the main turn-off about "LP", cause they had nothing in common with what you expect from JEROMES DREAM. Sure, they've turned older, hence the screams are not as manically as back in the days. Still, they are intense and miles above the ones on "LP".

They didn't fully cut off everything from the predecessor, as you'll get a few Post-Hardcore-flavoured parts as well as more melodic undertones than in their heydays. This and the pretty streamlined songwriting make "The Gray in Between" also a pretty accessible album. Honestly, I could imagine this as the entry drug for one who never heard anything Screamo-related before. What I like most about the melodic aspect is, that they don't overdo it. While the songs are longer than on the first two LPs, they always stay true to their Screamo/Emoviolence-style and don't dwelve too much into Post-Rock. I also really love the thing about the "fan service" I've mentioned before, cause you'll get a few nostalgic moments out of this when you're familiar with their early stuff. The intro from "Pines on the Hill" or the interlude "Often Oceans" directly took me back to the awesome outro of "It's more like a Message to you" from "Seeing means more than Safety". Speaking of that...

Everything I've written in the last few minutes was already said before. "The Gray in Between" is a return to form and indeed JEROMES DREAM's most fully realized album to date. Though I'm not sure about it topping "Seeing means more than Safety", to be fair however, I probably like this album better than the average Screamo-afficionado. "The Gray in Between" is just not as oppressive and haunting and just not as crazy and (positively) chopped-off. I have no reason to complain about anything whatsoever, cause -while I'm kinda trying to pump the hype-break- I'm not sure if any forthcoming Screamo-album will kick this off the '23-throne. JEROMES DREAM delivered big time, no doubt about that.

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