Dillon Ryan And The Dream Romantic Release “I Could Have” From New In Polaroid Album
Never underestimate the cathartic power of a little negative thinking. After all, it got a lot of us through the ’80s. And now it’s making a winning comeback thanks to Moncton, NB, melancholia merchant Dillon Ryan and his band, The Dream Romantic, who’ve taken a refreshingly old-school stance against toxic positivity on their just-released third album, In Polaroid.
An immensely satisfying eight-song callback to the Goth/New Wave glory days of Echo and the Bunnymen, The Smiths, and especially The Cure, the record hits every genre touchstone your black little heart could desire: clanging, chiming guitars; a relentlessly thwacking snare drum; and long, held keyboard notes that sit just below the threshold of human hearing. And of course, a lyrical and spiritual thrust that reassure us not to wallow in how bad things are now. Because there’s always the chance they’ll get worse.
The first single “I Could Have” is an immediately indelible attention-grabber—hear it on a Friday, and you’ll really be in love—trading in triumphant major chords and a soaring vocal that rings tailor-made for the emotional climax of a John Hughes movie. It’s triumphant, that is until you get to the lyrics—which is where the therapeutic defeatism comes in. The song chronicles the aftermath of an ill-fated youthful romance with all the earnest wistfulness of a journal entry filled out while tearfully scanning the clearance rack at Hot Topic:
And I feel our love
Is dying like a tidal wave
And I know you feel it’s true…
He could have
He could have loved you more
I should have
I should have known you more
“We’ve always been a group that proudly embraces our influences,” says singer-songwriter-guitarist Ryan. “I think most of the great bands of all time did that. But it isn’t limited to that.”
Indeed. Like the photo format its title references, In Polaroid is simultaneously retro and a picture that’s developing right before our eyes. For that, Ryan gives ample credit to Halifax-based co-producer John Mullane, whom he’s admired since Mullane’s days in the band In-Flight Safety. Mullane not only co-produced and mixed the record but co-wrote half of it, and his keyboards, guitar, and bass are sprinkled throughout the album as well. The two have worked together since the summer of 2016 when Mullane quickly attained the status of a mentor: “He really taught me some valuable lessons on songwriting and production that I’ve used as gospel pretty much ever since,” Ryan says.
For the most part, though, the album amounts to a sonic coming-out party for the live lineup of The Dream Romantic: Julie Doucette on keyboards and vocals, David Gregory on bass, and Alec Victor on drums.
“In a weird way, this is my debut album with the full band, but at the same time it feels almost like our ‘Greatest Hits’ or ‘The Best of,’” Ryan says. “We’ve road-tested these songs for such a long time, and they’ve evolved and morphed over time. People who have followed the band over the past several years have developed a relationship and love for a lot of these songs just from hearing them live so many times.”
With over 700 shows under their belt, that’s a lot of love. Standout gigs have included appearances at major festivals in eastern Canada and multiple showcases at the East Coast Music Awards Festival and Conference. Along the way, the group has been nominated for four Music New Brunswick awards, winning the Fans’ Choice Award in 2017.
And now, with A Polaroid being shaken vigorously to life, expect the juggernaut of live activity to only accelerate and the accolades to continue to roll in. Why, it’s enough to bring a smile to any gloom-glammer’s face. Just don’t spread it around.
Hi Dillon, care to introduce yourself?
Of course, and thanks for me having me on here! I grew up (and still currently live in) a small town in New Brunswick called Miramichi. I started playing in bands just over 20 years ago (I’m 33 for context). Often playing lead guitar or drums for all sorts of bands. In the fall of 2013, I had decided to start my own project where I was writing and singing my own songs. Something I hadn’t done before. I released an EP “Charlotte Street Haze” in 2014, a self-titled debut under my own name in 2015, “dreaming of love one more time” a solo acoustic album in 2022. Now we are here in 2024 and I’m releasing What is for all purposes the debut album by “Dillon Ryan & The Dream Romantic” titled “In Polaroid”. We’ve done lots of singles over the years, but this is the first record. Also thank you for the lovely review on the record a few weeks back!
Tell us about the process of recording “I Could Have”?
The earliest idea of the song comes from a demo I had of it in the winter of 2016 going into 2017. I had sent it along to our producer John Mullane and we met up in Moncton a few weeks later to work on it and change a few things. We felt the chorus needed something to make it really ‘pop’. We came up with the idea for that “high falsetto” part at the end of each chorus. Which for a lot of people has become the most recognizable part of the song. We’ve been playing the song live for such a long time now and people who have saw us live over the past several years have grown to really love this song. So it’s super exciting to finally have a studio version of the song out in the world.
What’s the music scene like in Moncton, NB?
The band is technically from both Moncton and Miramichi so I should speak to both places respectfully. Miramichi is my hometown and where I got my start musically. A place that’s pretty steeped in traditional Irish and Celtic music. So it’s pretty easy to become an outlier and for lack of a better term an “Odd duck” in the music scene here. I mean that with the utmost admiration to the musicians in the city wanting to try different things musically and also for the venues and audience in Miramichi there that will support it. There is a lot of incredible talent in Miramichi.
Since 2017 the band has been based out of Moncton. Moncton has always been a great city for being eclectic, especially in music that is somewhat counterculture. I’m not sure what the current number is but a friend of mine compiled a list of current active bands in Moncton” and I think the number was over 200 bands. Just a great melting pot of Indie, punk, metal, folk, Avant garde, hip hop, etc. It’s also one of those cities that more and more you see popping up on band’s tour schedules when coming through Canada.
Who was the first and most recent Canadian artist to blow you away?
Besides all the obvious British Influence in our music. One of the other big catalysts for our sound is a lot of great Canadian Music. As a kid, the first artist I fell in love with was Neil Young from my dad playing crazy horse cassettes in the truck when I was about 3. There are so many Canadian bands I’ve been influenced by like 54-40, The Northern Pikes, Grapes of Wrath, April Wine, Gowan, etc. Some more Current bands from Canada I’m really enjoying at the moment: “Fauxknow” from Nova Scotia, “Actors” from Vancouver, “My Black Ram” from Fredericton, and “He/She/They” from Moncton. Also “Absolute Losers” from Charlottetown is a current favorite. (I could sit here and list bands all day honestly).
What are your plans for Spring and Summer?
Definitely to continue touring this record we’ve just released. We have lots of shows and festivals coming up so that will be great. Including Living Roots Festival in Fredericton which we are excited for. Also, the Miramichi Rock N Roll Festival opening for Canadian legends Lee Aaron and Haywire. We have lots more shows to announce soon as well!
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