The duo of brothers Christian and Louie Baello have existed in multiple realms. First, they wanted to be rappers, with Louie penning rhymes while Christian handled production. Then they uploaded cover songs to YouTube, searching to find a lane for their vibrant music tastes. Their current form as Dream, Ivory, their strongest and most alluring, traces the roots of shoegaze, wobbly alt-rock, and the murk of SoundCloud uploads.
After releasing their debut album, About A Boy, in 2022, Dream, Ivory have dripped out new music sporadically, only putting out tracks with intention and vision. They don’t tread the same path twice, wearing their influences (Beach Fossils, Slowdive) but finding their own unique glow. Their latest single, “At Zero,” presents a darker reality, telling stories of addiction and despair within scuzzy melodies. “2024 was a turbulent year for us as brothers and as a band,” Christian shares. “We had to deal with a lot of change personally — and as a recovering alcoholic, the first part of the year was dealt with sinking lower into rock bottom, while the second part of the year was escaping that low point.”
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“‘At Zero’ is about the feeling of hopelessness and the indifference of wanting to feel better,” Louie adds. “Being ‘At Zero’ means you’re at rock bottom and can’t possibly see your life improving. Finding comfort in your own sadness is an unhealthy but easy cycle to fall into, and ‘At Zero’ is a song that describes that cycle.”
Their grainy video for the song, premiering below, reflects that fight with style and simplicity. The duo are at their lowest and in need of a way through the wreckage. In their case, that means wandering around at night, smoking cigarettes, and popping into convenience stores — ultimately trying to find purpose to bring them closer to the surface.
See the video for Dream, Ivory’s “At Zero” below.