ARTISTS

Dear Tracks

Matt Messore, Victoria Ovenden, Jacob Juodawlkis, Alex Militello

Active Years: 2014-2016, name change to Houseplants (2016-2018)
Genre: Dream Pop
Home: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Associated Acts: Cathedral Bells, You Blew It!, Houseplants
For Fans Of: Wild Nothing, Smith Westerns, Beach Fossils

Bandcamp | Cathedral Bells | Facebook | Soundcloud | Tumblr

 Press Photos at bottom of page

Biography

Dear Tracks is quite a departure from frontman Matt Messore’s former band, You Blew It!, but moving from Florida to Grand Rapids, Michigan can change your perspective and your sound. Messore says, “I moved to Michigan in 2013 with some bedroom recordings and the hope of forming a dream pop project with a friend I've known since 2007. I felt Michigan was a good place to move since I had always played good shows there on previous tours, and I felt it would be easier for me to focus on music there.”

“Opener ‘Moment of Clarity’ is the aural equivalent of a faded film of vacation snaps, bleached by light or time or both so that all blemishes are removed, while ‘All The Outs Are Free’ is like Nirvana on a tropical cruise, the vocals decidedly low against the soaring instrumentation.”
– Various Small Flames, review of ‘Soft Dreams’ EP.

Messore joined with Victoria Ovenden (synth/keyboards/backing vocals), Jacob Juodawlkis (bass) and Alex Militello (drums/percussion) to build the band that became Dear Tracks. Their first official release was a 7” single on Track & Field Records for the song “Wildflower” in early 2015 and they spent the rest of the year writing and recording 4 new songs for an EP enittled ‘Soft Dreams.’ The resulting jangly guitars, dreamy synths and drowned out vocals nod to The Jesus and Mary Chain, but much is owed to current bands like DIIV, Beach Fossils and Real Estate. Dear Tracks sounds like the way you feel after a long Michigan winter, when you can finally sit outside on a sun-soaked, neverending summer day. The first single “All the Outs Are Free” premiered via My Old Kentucky Blog.

"Laced with tight guitar melodies and hanging synths, the comedown song feels right as the moment the sun starts to fade on a vibrant day.”
– My Old Kentucky Blog, premiere of “All the Outs Are Free.”

The band's EP, ‘Soft Dreams,’ was released digitally worldwide on February 26th 2016, as well as on limited edition 10” vinyl and cassette via Furious Hooves (violet vinyl, mint tape) and Track & Field Records (mint vinyl, violet tape). Dear Tracks toured the EP release in March 2016 throughout the midwest and east coast including a date at Savannah Stopover festival. They also filmed and recorded a live session for Daytrotter. This EP ended up being the final release under the Dear Tracks moniker, before changing their name to Houseplants and releasing one more self-titled EP in 2017 on Yellow K Records.

“‘Soft Dreams’ is laced with star-lit hooks and sparse arrangements while still applying the hazy veil used by shoegaze stalwarts (My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Cocteau Twins). Cereal Pairing: Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme.”
– Cereal and Sounds, review of ‘Soft Dreams’ EP.

Since then, Dear Tracks’ founding member Matt Messore moved back to Florida and started a new project called Cathedral Bells in 2019. They have released multiple singles, an EP, and two full-lengths: ‘Velvet Spirit’ on Good Eye Records and ‘Ether’ on Spirit Goth Records, all in the short span of two years.

Press & Accolades

• “Soft Dreams” from ‘Soft Dreams’ EP was included in BIRP!’s February 2016 Playlist.

• Soft Dreams’ EP has over 32.9K streams on Soundcloud.

Furhoof Discography

Audio/Video

Press Photos