Hailing from New Brighton — a seaside suburb of Wallasey in Merseyside, U.K. — the Dream Machine are a 2021-formed indie rock quartet drawing on the magpie-like psychedelia of the Coral and the dark drama of Echo & the Bunnymen.
The precocious talent of lead singer and multi-instrumentalist Zak McDonnell was evidently born of a childhood spent observing his father’s various musical activities. After working in a much-loved Wallasey guitar shop, David McDonnell formed the Sand Band, who enjoyed five-star reviews for their 2011 indie folk album, All Through the Night. Prior to this, he was a member of Richard Ashcroft’s live band and an occasional member of the Coral, touring 2005’s Invisible Invasion and contributing to 2007’s Roots & Echoes in the studio. Inspired by his father, Zak took up the drums and, at the age of 13, played in an early incarnation of Lia Metcalfe’s the Mysterines. He went on to work at Parr St. Studios in Liverpool, even making fleeting appearances on the Coral’s 2018 album, Move Through the Dawn, and Blossoms’ third LP, 2020’s Foolish Loving Spaces. Receiving encouragement from the Coral’s leader, James Skelly, he began to play guitar and write his own songs.
In early 2020, a couple of months before the first COVID-19-related lockdowns, McDonnell began playing music with Matthew Gouldson, a close friend and fellow multi-instrumentalist. By the middle of the year, bassist Jack Inchboard had joined the fold, and the Dream Machine’s lineup was completed in early 2021 with the addition of Isaac Salisbury on drums. Their debut EP, Vol. 1: Sacraments, was released by Run On, an imprint of the local label Modern Sky, that July. A second volume, the nautically themed On the Water, followed in September, drawing inspiration from nights spent looking out from New Brighton’s promenade. In early 2022, the Dream Machine enjoyed a three-date, three-month residency at Jimmy’s in Liverpool as well as prestigious support slots with the Coral. The latter endeavor led to McDonnell following in his father’s footsteps and becoming a touring member of Skelly’s act while maintaining his position as the Dream Machine’s lynchpin. An eccentric third EP, Vol. 3: Pooch Slingers’ Wild Round-Up!, appeared that May, before all three records were compiled as an LP to coincide with an appearance at Kendal Calling.
From late 2022 onwards, the band toured regularly in support of Wigan’s the Lathums while releasing singles and EPs previewing tracks from their debut album proper. Although it was eventually unleashed in April 2023, Thank God! It’s the Dream Machine… was recorded during late 2021 on an eight-track machine at their rehearsal room. An extensive U.K. tour ensued in promotion of the record, culminating in a slot opening for the Lathums at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl in front of 8,000 people, at which McDonnell guested on percussion for the headline act.
