The music of Natalie Bouloudis inhabits its own place and time, beautifully crafted songs that whisk you away to a haunted landscape. The singer-songwriter returns to cast her ominous spell with the new single ‘Dream River,’ a dense and evocative folk-rock piece.

As the song unfolds, Bouloudis conjures up rich and vivid imagery: ‘time is a tormentor, she stretches and she bends against my will,’ she sings as she wrestles with the crawling of time, whilst holding onto ‘trickling, overspilling,’ dreams. Instrumentally, ‘Dream River’ packs a fierce punch, violins soar overhead whilst powerful drums erupt around Bouloudis’ steadfast and commanding vocal, which calls to mind the husky Chan Marshall of Cat Power, with the range and intensity of Grace Slick.

‘Dream River’ builds on the layered, hallucinating vocals, melodic bass and adamantine electric guitar of 2021’s Devil Is Doubt EP, but with a heavier sensibility from the outset.