Dreams by Eloi Eloi
Dreams is a song about faith, dissociation, gender identity, and guilt. It is a standout track on the album Oubliette by the Bristol-based Christian goth rock band Eloi Eloi, to be released as a single in the spring of 2024.
It has deliberate influence from genres such as goth rock and neoclassical darkwave, and takes a lot of derivation from bands such as Dead Can Dance, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, and The Cure.
It not only changes style throughout it's progression, beginning with an orchestral introduction, but also masterfully plays with wording - completely avoiding first person pronouns in favour of alternating between gendered third person pronouns except for the first and last words in the song. This was specifically done to reflect the track's themes of dissociation and gender.
This not only gives the song a special story, but also shows quality in the track itself; standing out against other songs in similar genres for it's unique musical characteristics and introspective, moving lyrics that tell a poetic story of self discovery and moving on.
Lyrics
[Intro]
‘I’m tired of writing songs in the first person’
He says.
[Verse 1]
Is it any wonder his dreams
aren’t any different to real life?
And when he’s taken to nightmares,
he can’t tell what’s real or what’s lies.
[Chorus]
How can he be close to himself,
let alone close to his own faith?
How could he let himself forget
Oh, that guilty girl he became?
[Bridge]
You have so many gifts for him
Gifts she doesn’t even deserve
[Verse 2]
And she sits back in his memories
Laughing at the cinema screen
She’s there within his melodies
He can’t ever escape their past
[Chorus]
How can he be close to himself,
let alone close to his own faith?
How could he let himself forget
Oh, that guilty girl he became?
[Verse 3]
But in the end, he can move on
Leave behind these aching memories
In pen she’ll be, stuck as a song
And never able to be me
Credits
• Mylo Hodges - Guitarist, Main Vocalist, Producer, Main Writer
• Will Covell - Drum Sequencer, Mix Mastering Engineer, Secondary Writer
• Asher Mereweather - Bassist, Secondary Writer
• Lilith Raven-Dodd - Secondary Vocalist, Secondary Writer