Haunting and heavenly, delicate and dramatic, deary’s breathtakingly beautiful ‘Aurelia’ EP consumes the ears and stirs the soul as the London-based dream pop duo evolve their sound while staying undeniably true to themselves.

for fans of Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, The Cure, Beabadoobee

Stream: “Selene” – deary

Haunting and heavenly, delicate and dramatic, deary’s sophomore EP is a spellbinding dream pop seduction.

The British duo bare their souls in a cathartic, all-consuming soundscape soaked in sweet vocals, dazzling reverb, and dreamy sepia tones; moments of nostalgia, yearning, connection, and wonderment collide and coalesce into one as the soul-stirring six-track Aurelia dares us to be bold, to dream big, to be true to ourselves, and are to forever wear our hearts unapologetically on our sleeves.

Have you seen the wild woman
Climbing the desert sun
To get back to you?
Some watch her flying
Over the belt of Orion
To get back to you?

Golden Selene
Been trying to reach her for so long
And get back to you
Get back to you

– “Selene,” deary

Released on November 1^st, 2024 via Sonic Cathedral, Aurelia is a breathtaking evolution for deary. An Atwood Magazine artist-to-watch, the London-based duo of vocalist Rebecca ‘Dottie’ Cockram and guitarist-producer Ben Easton have been drenching our airwaves with ethereal and soul-stirring music ever since they introduced themselves in early 2023. Atwood praised the band’s debut single “Fairground” as a visceral shoegaze dream: “The kind that envelops our ears and drenches our hearts in its glistening wash of sound. The kind that cuts deep and leaves a lasting mark.”

deary’s lush self-titled debut EP (released last November) further established the duo as purveyors of the hypnotic, the lilting, the atmospheric, and the reverb-drenched, with its six tracks building out a defining thick, gauzy identity. Whilst they certainly evoke the likes of Mazzy Star, Slowdive, and Cocteau Twins, deary have, from day one, stood out as something special – and their sophomore effort further sets them apart from the swathe of modern dream pop and shoegaze bands.

As Ben Easton explains, making their sophomore EP required deary to push themselves as songwriters and world-builders – resulting in more grounded writing and an expanded sonic palette.

“We had to be more present on Aurelia; to draw from current experiences and turn that round with more immediacy than EP 1. I think there’s a lot more realness on this EP; a lot more anxiety, frailty, and more trust in one another,” he tells Atwood Magazine.

“The vision for Aurelia was an album, but it didn’t feel natural from day one. If anything, it felt unnatural,” he continues. “One of our main principals when we formed ‘deary’ was to let it grow naturally and not be swept up by any outside pressures. There is more to explore and experiment with. We’ve had five drummers since we started; if you look at it that way, you can see that we’re still finding the combinations and I think Aurelia is the perfect document of that.”

Grow with the present or decay
Hanging on every word you say
I can’t sleep tonight
You make it hard to leave
I can’t sleep tonight
Swallowing all my dreams

Always been hard to hear the truth
Must kill the flower, to kill the root
I can’t sleep tonight
You make it hard to leave
I can’t sleep tonight
Swallowing all my dreams

– “Aurelia,” deary

Both band members relished the opportunity to experiment within (and simultaneously expand) deary’s world.

“With every new song, we’re finding more out about ourselves and our sound. How we can elevate and intrigue and how we can push each other to write our best,” Dottie Cockram smiles. “I really enjoyed playing around with the vocal melodies and textures on this EP and not being afraid to lean more into the ‘pop’ elements of dream pop.”

Ben Easton adds, “For me, the most exciting part of being a musician is stepping into a studio with a few ideas in hand and seeing what happens. We wanted Aurelia to stay true to what to what we had in our minds, but also what we could recreate on stage. We didn’t start life as a live band, so that side of our music has always felt secondary and we’re wary to repeat the first EP again. EP 2 had to be more performative and immediate.”

“As two fairly introverted people, I think Aurelia shows parts of our personality that have been kept hidden,” he adds. “This collection of tracks is more intense; the heavier parts are more powerful and the fragile tracks more brittle. Maybe there were some ‘handbreak-on’ moments on the first EP in terms of the production, the songwriting and even the performance.”

Drift down to the lake
Watch the gold melt away
As Kate serenades,
Promise me you won’t change

Meet me when it’s late
On the hill near Avishayes
Water floods the lanes
Promise me you won’t wait

Drift away from me

– “The Drift,” deary

To that end, Easton candidly describes Aurelia as ‘anxious, intense, and fragile,’ while Cockram opts for words like ‘longing, hopeful, and orange.’

The EP’s name further reflects the achingly intense vulnerability felt throughout the music.

“An ‘Aurelian’ is an archaic term for a Lepidopterist (someone who collects butterflies), which came to light after we had finished ‘The Moth,’” Easton says. “Aurelia is intentionally thematically linked; repeatedly being drawn into bad situations, bad cycles and losing a part of oneself. It’s the realisation that something has to give way in order to grow.”

Highlights abound on the journey from the EP’s seductively dreamy, scene-setting opener and title track “Aurelia” to its soothing finale, “Dream of Me.” Lead single “The Moth” is immersive, enchanting, and utterly captivating: A feast for the mind, body, and soul, its thick wall of sound engulfing the ears as Cockram invites us deep into her world: “You could be my universe,” she sings as heavy, reverb-laden guitars swell, soar, and drone alongside pulsing drums. Her golden vocals are a beacon of warm light in a cool, all-consuming environment. “I lost my way in the fire, I am a moth to the flame. Dancing too close to desire to feel again.”

“At first, I found it quite hard to write these lyrics,” Cockram recalls. “I knew what I wanted to say, but sometimes the hardest thing about songwriting is condensing hundreds of ideas into a few lines. As soon as I wrote ‘I am a moth to the flame’ in my notebook, it sat so well, and the rest came flooding in. This image of a moth flying towards this light, the power in its wings, and its desire for this saviour, played in my mind.”

“I wanted to focus on that feeling of immortality and devotion. ‘You could be my universe.’ Throwing our hearts and bodies into a moment with no care for the outcome. We mostly know how it will end but it’s the human, the moth in us.”

I lost my way in the fire
I am a moth to the flame
Dancing too close to desire
To feel again

You got me hypnotised
Frozen as you set my whole world alight
Feeding off the way you burn
You could be my universe

Songs like “Selene” and “The Drift” further build out Aurelia’s intoxicating, enveloping musical world marked at once by darkness and light, movement and stillness, warmth and coolness.

Into everything they make, deary inject their own unfiltered, unabridged humanity – making these songs, each one a dizzying, dazzling rush, all the more compelling. Intimacy and vulnerability are but two hallmarks of Dottie Cockram’s songwriting; she pours her full self into her lyrics, as into her performance, resulting in music that seems to make time itself stand still.

“My personal favourite was always ‘Dream of Me,’ because it was a track I’ve always wanted to write, something that swells and goes off the rails a bit,” Easton says on the topic of favorites. “It also took the longest to get right, which was a small victory over my inner critic. Dottie’s performance vocally is so haunting as well; it’s beautiful.”

“My personal favourite is ‘Selene,” Cockram smiles. “I’ve haven’t written anything like that song before. I love the image of a goddess flying over the desert and the stars on the look out for something/ someone lost. It’s also fun to play live! I also remember writing ‘The Drift’ and Ben humming the melody over the bridge. It made the whole song come together and was the perfect end to our work on this EP. I felt very proud of us.”

As for her favorite lyrics, she cites the first verse of “Dream of Me.” “It was written about my favourite place, Lyme Regis – ‘town by the beach, shorelines drawn perfectly, home just for me, where the sand meets the sea.’ I also like the simple ‘I’ll be happy where you are‘ from ‘Where You Are.’ It was just a line that came up while I was playing around with the guitar. It’s not written for anyone in particular, but I like the thought of listeners knowing exactly who they feel that for.”

While for so many artists the sophomore EP is a steppingstone, for deary it is a statement of evolution and intent.

Easton and Cockram introduced themselves to us last year, and then immediately set about breaking that mold and deftly morphing their artistry just twelve months later. Aurelia makes sense as the follow-up to deary; the two records feel like sonic siblings, connected but distinctive, all a part of deary’s ever-expanding dream pop universe.

“Of course, we adore that people are listening to our music, finding some comfort, enjoyment or solace, but it’s more important to find that identity within each other,” Easton shares. “I feel a lot more contented in where we are as musicians.”

“I hope everyone enjoys hearing our development and our many inspirations come through,” Cockram adds. “I’d like to think there’s a song for everyone on there. We had so much fun working with fantastic people on Aurelia, and I’m intrigued to find where the album might lead us sonically.”

You’ve got eyes that steal the room
Despite the smoke and cheap perfume
From your father’s old cigar
I’ll be happy where you are

– “Where You Are,” deary

Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside deary’s Aurelia EP with Atwood Magazine as Ben Easton and Dottie Cockram take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their sophomore release!

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:: stream/purchase Aurelia EP here ::

:: connect with deary here ::

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Stream: ‘Aurelia’ – deary

:: Inside Aurelia ::

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Aurelia

The first track written after the ‘deary’ EP. Most would know it by its original title; ‘Can’t Sleep Tonight’. We took it to The Nave Studios in Leeds in August last year, despite having only played it live a few times, fleshing it out with Alex Greaves and Matt Peel. The guys were really interested in recreating the original demo; building sample-esque live drums, new guitar sounds and utilising different synths they had in the studio. As with EP1, Sammy Lynne provided the drums. After a few months had passed, and the wider EP had started taking shape., we added the finishing touches with Iggy down in Brighton, whilst keeping that level of experimentation provided by Alex and Matt. It’s a great opener to the EP, so much so that we decided to rename the track after the EP itself, representing this metamorphosis of our sound over the past eighteen months.

The Moth

“The Moth” is probably where the whole idea of ‘Aurelia’ came about. We had this very immediate, dark single missing a poppy vocal hook but as soon as Dottie found ‘The Moth’ metaphor, it all fell into place. An ‘Aurelian’ is an archaic term for a lepidopterist, someone who is interested in butterflies and moths. Etymologically, ‘Aurelia’ is its female counterpart and is also derived from the latin Aureus, meaning ‘golden.’

Selene

“Selene” is a figure from Greek mythology associated with the sun and the moon but also re-birth. Our new material is all about transition and metamorphosis; shedding deep rooted parts of oneself in order to develop, which came after a period of self-reflection towards the end of last year. We wanted to give ‘Selene’ its day in the sun as a single and drafted Simon Scott in on drumming duties. He brought out a solid foundation and allowed the song to play out above him. It was surreal to have an incredible drummer and producer working in harmony almost instantly on a track that was little more than a sketch a few hours before. Sonically, we allowed ourselves some more space to build the instrumentation, not to throw in vocals where they weren’t needed and let the track transcend on its own. I think it’s one of the best songs we’ve written together so far.

The Drift

Ben: “The Drift” was the final track from the Aurelia sessions, and gives the whole body of work that extra glimpse into where we want to go next. The EP is all about transition and trying to lose a part of oneself in order to grow. I wanted certain motifs echoed across different parts of the record, to instill this sense of recollection. With that in mind, the lead guitar sounds like a distant relative to ‘The Moth’. There’s some urgency as well which makes it a personal favourite. It seems that those who have already heard the track have gravitated towards it, which is always a good sign.

Dots: I’m so grateful to have grown up in Somerset. It’s what gives me my love for nature and a need for it. It’s still very strange to me that I lived in London but it makes going back to my home town more special each time. I think i have a sense of guilt for leaving and making stories elsewhere. It again reflects that metamorphosis that Ben and I have been reflecting on. Knowing that you need to move on but feeling sad for that part you have to let go.

Where You Are

“Where You Are” was an organic addition to the EP, a product of the desire to place the same melody in changed contexts to provide different meaning, like looking at the same picture from different angles. It gives this song movement, despite only clocking in at two minutes. We wanted to write something sweet to sit amongst the other songs. It’s an ode to friendship and finding a home there.

Dream of Me

Ben: It took a while to get right, partly because we were cautious not to lean on guitars as heavily as we usually do. We’ve always been influenced by Portishead and the tenderness of Beth Gibbons’ voice, it’s something that we wanted to explore on this EP. It’s both the saddest song we’ve written whilst also a fitting end to a body of work centred on transition and change.

Dots: I have fond memories of being a youngling and travelling to Lyme Regis in Dorset. My friends and i would spend hours staring out at the sea and taking in the vastness of it all. I find the coast a sort of ‘purgatory’ space. With your life laid out on the land behind you as you look out to miles of the undiscovered. I’ve recently been struggling with a sense of belonging and found myself going back to these times and seeking comfort there. Comfort in how lost i felt back then and knowing it’s a feeling that will come and pass throughout life.

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:: stream/purchase Aurelia EP here ::

:: connect with deary here ::

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 © Grace Easton

Aurelia

an EP by deary