The sound of Velvet Dreaming “spiraling” is a beautiful, chaotic thing.
We don’t say it to be cruel — the Boston “freak-pop” artist (a.k.a. Kade Thibodeau) nails a woozy collision of hyper-pop and electroclash on their new EP Spiraling, which dropped last week (May 25). The four-track project plummets into a maximalist rave guided by inspiration from artists like Miss Kittin, Crystal Castles, M.I.A., and Uffie. But despite the influence of early aughts electro-pop, Spiraling is a Velvet Dreaming project through and through — so much so that it begins with a taut self-titled “theme song” that further establishes Thibodeau’s synth-studded sonic palette.
“‘Velvet Dreaming’ was the first song I created for Spiraling,” they tell Vanyaland. “I started the idea of a title track in late 2022, and had the chorus lyrics sitting on my phone for a while. Most of the lyrics were improvised while writing over the instrumental, and it merged into my title track idea when I’d written the opening line ‘do you wanna dance with me?’ as I sometimes open my live shows with that question. I suppose I was waiting for the right time to make my theme song a reality. It’s a short, catchy, to-the-point dance track, and I feel it captures the vibe of my music.”
Clocking in at nine minutes, Spiraling‘s descent is a rapid one. The EP grows increasingly menacing as Thibodeau dabbles in a darker approach to pop, leaving them singing “you make me feel like I’m somebody else” on “Spiraling,” just a few tracks removed from their assertive introduction. The confession feels an endorsement for losing yourself in the project — and with such an expansive sound, free-falling into Spiraling comes fairly naturally.
Tune in below.