We caught up with Denver four-piece Fainting Dreams to talk about thir latest record, You Can Be Anything, out now.
Beginning in early 2022 as the solo project of vocalist and guitarist Elle Reynolds, the group has grown to
include Francys Andros (bass, vocals), John Willis (drums), and Jared Barnes (guitar). Through this expansion, their sound has evolved into an immersive convergence of slowcore, doom, post-metal, and shoegaze.
How did you all get started as a band, and what inspired you to make music?
I (Elle) started this band back in 2022 as a solo project because I was craving something different to the bands I was in at the time where I had a bit more creative liberty and could primarily focus on vocal performance and atmospheric music as opposed to the more chaotic, technical music I’d been involved in. Very quickly I was reminded of how much fulfillment and connection it brings me to make music with others and that this was one of the main reasons I made music, so it didn’t take long for me to bring in other members. Our lineup changed quite a few times over the first few years of the project, and it was honestly really great to get to play with so many different musicians who brought their own unique feel to this project. Over time as we’ve come into our current lineup with some of the most talented musicians I know, the music’s gotten heavier and more collaborative but at its core the songs are still almost always born from a vocal idea I have and grown into something much larger.
As a queer band, why is visibility in the music scene important? Why is creating music important for you all as queer creatives?
Visibility as a queer band, and especially as a band with trans artists is incredibly important right now because we live in a world that’s actively trying to erase the trans community and make the general public feel like the safety of trans people is something that doesn’t affect them too. Queer people having a spotlight is essential for people to understand that the trans community exists all around them, and I couldn’t begin to count how often kids come up to me at shows to talk about how much it means to see a trans person like me up on stage being myself and taking up space unapologetically.
For myself personally, making music is truly my biggest form of catharsis. I exist in a weird juxtaposition where my life is largely going well and I feel very content with day to day living, while still existing with the constant knowledge that the US government would have me disappeared from the face of the earth if they had their way. I’m not an angry person generally, and music is this amazing opportunity for me to get to let out my angriest, most hopeless thoughts and scream them in front of a room full of people and still have a wonderful time doing it. I think this type of release is vital for queer people and marginalized people, however they achieve it for themselves.
What are you most excited about with this lineup?
This is a lineup full of bands we either love playing with or have talked about playing with for a long time and put on some of the best live shows in Denver. While we love a mixed bill, it’s truly a pleasure to get to celebrate our release by sharing the stage with such like minded bands who also consistently walk the line between beauty and heaviness. It’s our favorite lineup we’ve had in ages.
What message are you most trying to spread with your music? I’m honestly just trying to be as vulnerable as possible, both for myself and in hopes that someone watching can feel a bit less alone. Our music is largely very personal but with the state of the world these days, the personal and the political start to become entwined with almost everything you do and our music definitely isn’t an exception. “The Silence of Birds That Rarely Sing” is largely about the dangers of falling into a state of complacency when you see others suffering and how essential it is to bring compassion with you into every interaction.
The post Interview: Fainting Dreams on the Process Behind ‘You Can Be Anything’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.