RÊVE

Music and art is a powerful thing. When the right kind of art is made, it can be used as a tool to inspire, a tool to move people to do great things. Sometimes music moves you just a little, sometimes it moves you a lot but in the case of La Marionnette, this piece of art moved mountains for me. This album is truly a one of a kind experience and is enjoyable from front to back.

RÊVE is a 5-piece band based out of Baltimore, Maryland, made up of Athena Hiotis (Vocals, Keys and Rhythm Guitar), Nicholas Kosmas (Bass Guitar), Shareef Taher (Drums, Percussion), Benjamin Hoyt (Violin), Alejandro Fariña (Lead Guitar). Their new album La Marionnette was released today, September 20, 2016. The album features Kacy Clopton on cello and was mixed and mastered by Tony Corelli of Deep End Studios. La Marionnette is available on all major outlets including iTunes, Bandcamp, Spotify, and Youtube.

The album begins with an instrumental piece called “Chanson Des Rêves Heureux.” A solo piano builds into an orchestral type arrangement featuring violin, cello, guitar, and electronic elements letting you know you are in for a truly musical composition. After that arrangement there is hard stop into the track “Marionettes” which is a stark contrast from the previous track. “Marionettes” opens up with a crunchy almost punk like guitar riff that leads into a hard hitting song about being controlled. The musicality is still there but much more in your face. You can see the short film for “Marionettes,” released back in August, on YouTube.

It’s clear that the album was obsessed over because the flow continues in the same manner moving from one musical approach to another, while still remaining cohesive and with a consistent lyrical theme throughout. Encompassing many different genres and taking a fresh approach on mixing different genres together, La Marionnette is an experience from front to back. Touching on themes about manipulation, struggle, true love and redemption the album almost works like a novel, telling a story without being so specific that you can’t make the story your own. Some standout tracks are “Like Moths,” “Agency and Accountability,” “Inertia,” and “Maid of Heaven.”

RÊVE has been building up for this release for over a year. The effort has clearly paid off because the album is spectacular. Enjoy videos from La Marionettes that were released leading up to the album below. - Shockwave Magazine

Baltimore alt-rock outfit RÊVE is set to release a brand new debut album on September 20th, 2016. The album is called La Marionette and it is required listening for fans of Adventures or PVRIS.

RÊVE utilizes a genre-mash of alternative rock, classical, and avant-garde storytelling to create something larger than the sum of its parts. The goal of this album seems to be crafting a memorable and long-lasting experience for the listener. I had the opportunity to give La Marionette a listen to tell you all about it.

La Marionette Track List:
1. Chanson des Rêves Heureux
2. Marionettes
3. Agency And Accountability
4. Inheritance
5. Inertia
6. Like Moths
7. Orpheus
8. Maid of Heaven

The album begins cinematically with a build-up track overture called “Chanson des Rêves Heureux” that leads you into a different state of mind. Grand, cathartic, and operatic orchestral sweeps lead you into the story of the album. It immediately kicks into high-gear with the pulse-pounding rock anthem, “Marionettes,” a stand-out track for me. “Wake up, if you dare,” wails Athena Hiotis, the band's lead vocalist. She brings a rock attitude with her delivery and it meshes perfectly with the tone of the guitars and violins that drive the song (and the entire album, by extension).

In “Agency And Accountability,” the vocals are backed up with a full-sounding chorus, giving the climax of the song a very rock opera Broadway flavor. “Inheritance” is funky, with its distorted bass and vocals with furious drums.

“Orpheus” is one of my favorite tracks. It creates a sense of uneasiness throughout the runtime and slowly builds up to an explosive hard-rocking final climax.

The closing track to La Marionette is the epic and choral “Maid of Heaven,” their lead single from the album. I enjoy it, so I'll let that song speak for itself. You can check it out right now, as the band has released it alongside a short film music video directed by Edgar David Nazario. “Maid of Heaven” is readily available on YouTube.

Overall, I really dig the sound of RÊVE and can't wait to hear more from them. I'm excited for the release of this album so others can experience them as well.

Rating: 8.5/10 - The Hook Journal

Rêve, the Baltimore band once known as Playground Etiquette, have released a new video in advance of the remixing/mastering and partial re-recording of their album La Marionnette. On the heals of their The Joanne Sessions EP, recorded at the Joanne Trattoria in NYC, Rêve improves upon Playground Etiquette with more (somehow) shine and professionalism. "Agency and Accountability" demonstrates a great level of polish and improvement to the sound of a song that already had a solid sound. It's exciting to see a band, which already put so much effort and talent into everything they do, take it to the next level. Also, the video is kinda creepy, which is always good. --Natan Press - The Deli - Washington DC, by Natan Press