Hypnogaja: My Dreams Have Teeth
Hypnogaja Explores Fear, Identity, and Everything We Try to Hide on ‘My Dreams Have Teeth’
by Jack Rush
Hypnogaja has never been a band interested in playing it safe. Their latest release, My Dreams Have Teeth (Expanded Edition), continues that approach, bringing together alternative rock, electronic influences, and darker subject matter across 19 tracks.
Released through Snafu Records via FUGA/Virgin Music, the album sees ShyBoy, Jeeve, and Nubar exploring the uncomfortable parts of being human. Fear, insecurity, self-doubt, and the things people would rather keep to themselves all have a place here.
There's a clear connection between the album's horror-inspired imagery and its songwriting. "Ghosts in the Hallway," co-written with A Perfect Circle's Matt McJunkins, deals with feelings that refuse to stay buried. "Stranger Inside," written alongside Wendy Waldman, takes a similar interest in the parts of ourselves we struggle to accept.
The expanded edition also gives the band room to experiment. "Wonderful Wonderful," featuring British singer Pixie Lott, is an unexpected collaboration that brings a more melodic, pop-oriented approach to the record. There's something particularly unsettling about its cheerful title when the song itself concerns a world falling apart.
Their interpretation of Charli xcx's "Sympathy is a knife" is another interesting choice. Rather than simply reproducing the original, Hypnogaja approaches it from a rock perspective, demonstrating how well the song's underlying tension translates between genres.
"Lost Days" offers something different again, drawing on synth-pop while reflecting on time, uncertainty, and the frustrations of the creative process.
At over an hour long, My Dreams Have Teeth (Expanded Edition) asks for a considerable amount of the listener's attention. Still, the range of material makes a case for a band willing to explore beyond its established sound.
What makes this release interesting isn't necessarily its darkness, but the ordinary human experiences underneath it. Hypnogaja understands that sometimes the things keeping us awake at night have very little to do with monsters.
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