REVIEW: Peel Dream Magazine: Live at The Masquerade (Altar) - ATL
- Magali Rivera
- Oct 16
- 2 min read
The LA group returns to ATL to play their signature, nostalgia-filled sound
Joseph Stevens, frontperson and project lead of Peel Dream Magazine, began the band in New York back in 2018. With five albums of varying genres and moods under their belts, the group is now Los Angeles-based and constantly touring their new work. They opened for Friko at Smith’s Olde Bar this past February and returned to Atlanta on their own headline tour, having played The Masquerade’s Altar stage last week.
Peel Dream Magazine’s sound has gone through a number of transformations in their time as a band. Their second record Agitprop Alterna takes a more shoegaze alt-rock approach while their third LP Pad is full Baroque pop. All of their inspiration and experience is best exhibited on their fourth album Rose Main Reading Room. It is a nostalgic dream pop reflection of childhood and an effervescent release of sweetness. The songwriting is nothing short of poetic while the instrumentation is vessel for the emotions being conveyed. The group’s most recent release is a mini-album entitled Taurus, which is an extension of their fourth record in subject and feeling.
The band took the stage after their openers Orchid Mantis and Kid Fears, two local Atlanta groups. They began their set with “Central Park West”, a track from Rose Main Reading Room filled with personal memories of New York, delivered in a bright package. They continued with a number of upbeat songs, spanning their extensive discography, before jumping into “Wish You Well” then “Four Leaf Clover”, two songs that meld together so beautifully and should always be accompanied by the other.
The members of the band always seemed intent on watching one another, looking for cues from Stevens or their drummer Julian Ruiz, as many of their tracks are interestingly timed. They bounced from soft songs with angelic backing vocals by Olivia Babuka Black to more rough ones with guitar breaks by Ian Gibbs. When the group last played in Atlanta, Black played keys while this tour she is on bass, which I found to be a welcomed change that deepened their already rich sound.
Peel Dream Magazine creates music that acts as a delicate soundtrack to life and fosters feelings of wistfulness that often accompany thoughts of memories past. The care and creativity with which the group records and performs their work is obvious and thoughtful. The band’s name is a great descriptor of who they are, and I trust their future creations will continue to mirror both their experiences and influences.
Thank you so much to Peel Dream Magazine, their team, and The Masquerade for an awesome show and making all of this possible!
Article and photos by Magali Rivera. Please credit @magliriver or @art.seen.atl if reposting on social media.
