After the breakup of Berkshire band Hindsights last year, singer Benio Baumgart is back with a new group, Sibling. Their upcoming 4-song EP Dream You Away, with its rippling, fluid guitars, is an atmospheric introduction to a band that has a promising future ahead of it.
If the background which inspired Dream You Away sounds more like a nightmare – Baumgart explains that the EP is about escaping an abusive relationship – the result nevertheless feels like a dream of a different kind. It’s easy to slip away into these songs as into a reverie, and the beautiful production helps spotlight the musicianship of guitarist Sam Correa and solid percussive work from drummer Lewis Pickering.
At times during the title track the lyrics feel a bit too plain(ly put), but Baumgart’s delicately shaded vocals help distract where lyrical craft falters. A singer with the range and ability to stand out, Baumgart also has an instinctive understanding of when to pull back, something undervalued but often just as important, and his control and delivery serve these songs well. On ‘Breathe In’, while Baumgart’s vocals tie it together, it’s the intricately knit and textural guitars that draw the listener in.
During standout track ‘Tu Me Manques’, Baumgart screams “You’re in the back of my head, you’re in my head too long” and it’s hard not to see that as a promise: with its infectious melody and soaring chorus, ‘Tu Me Manques’ is difficult to shake loose.
