Get ready for the perfect blend of rock and roll, retro pop, and a dash of 80s cliche.
"Fever Dream" is an escape to another reality. Mathew's powerful vocals really carry this track. There is this natural grit yet beautiful optimism through the vocals on the track. I feel like you can imagine dancing to this song under neon lights. It has this timeless flare.
"Fever Dream" definition: a very strange experience or situation, usually a bad one, that seems like a dream rather than like something that would really happen
Building off the description of a fever dream is, the song touches on being stuck in "the in between" phase in life and love. A lot of inspiration was pulled from the sudden change of the pandemic and its effect on both life/love. In life, we were forced to stay put and rearrange our hopes/dreams/aspirations. In love, our relationships changed - we had to adapt to this new way of living, and living with our partner."
Reflecting on how things used to be, but now you're caught in a "fever dream" of this weird phase of life and that feeling that grass was always greener/nostalgia for better times.
Of course, this can happen without the Pandmeic, but a lot of the album is a reflection on how much this era has changed us as humans.
Child Seat, the powerhouse duo formed in 2021 by Madeleine Mathews (MAWD) and Josiah Mazzaschi (Light FM, Bizou), turns pandemic setbacks into indie rock gold.
In the midst of producing and recording Mathews' debut solo record, Mazzaschi fell ill with Covid. Bedridden for weeks and climbing the walls, he sent Mathews instrumental tracks that he'd been stockpiling throughout the pandemic. Inspired by the nostalgic yet modern sound, Mathews began overlaying timely lyrics and catchy vocal melodies.
Within a month, the two had compiled a full-length LP, aptly titled "Bad Holiday”—a cheeky reference to the early stages of lockdown. The lyrical content on "Bad Holiday" touches on drastic changes around the world—devastating wildfires, sickness and loss—and Mathews’ internal struggle to adjust to the new abnormal. The song "Burning" refers to the 2021 wildfire that threatened Mathew’s hometown and wiped-out hundreds of thousands of acres of land that she’d hiked and traversed throughout her youth. While some songs feature darker subjects, Mathews and Mazzaschi manage to cultivate an upbeat and catchy sound as they explore universal themes of love, anxiety, and depression.
