Acoqui release ‘Drive By Dream’ this week Credit: Photo by Matthew Ventura
Every move that Orlando indie-rock band Acoqui have made over the past decade has been an event. Acoqui began in the early 2010s as the solo ambient project of Alberto Hernandez, but really took flight once it bloomed into a stacked all-star band that includes Aaron Borowicz (Loose Touch, Attachedhands), Steven Head (White Sands, Moon Jelly) and Tyson Bodiford (Loose Touch, Summerbirds in the Cellar), all pedigreed players from Orlando’s indie and experimental music scenes.

But while infrequent output and live appearances would doom most acts to obscurity, Acoqui’s scarcity has only rarefied their high profile. Now, seven years later, they’re finally reemerging with their long-awaited sophomore album, Drive By Dream. While their 2017 debut LP (A Heart Fills This Way) was an exercise in texture and atmosphere, this new nine-song album sheds the shoegaze haze for clearer, cozier sonics.

Rather than washing over you, Acoqui’s latest sound seeks instead to wrap itself around you with its indie-psych warmth. The melodies float and mesmerize with a bedroom aura that uses its close range to sound both intimate and big. After a long gestation in seasoned, meticulous hands like theirs, Drive By Dream is, unsurprisingly, an exceptionally conceived and rendered work.

As befits a band that takes steps with great deliberation and show, Drive By Dream features even bigger star credits than ever. Besides mixing by Samur Khouja (Cate Le Bon, Deerhunter, Devendra Banhart, Joanna Newsom) and mastering by Heba Kadry (Björk, Boygenius, Beach House, Sufjan Stevens, Neon Indian), Luke Temple appears as both producer and guest artist on this album.

Drive By Dream will release everywhere on Friday, June 14. Orlando will get an early peek of it at a special advance listening party Wednesday, June 12, at Lil Indie’s. It’s a free event that will air the album in its entirety at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.

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This article appears in Jun 5-11, 2024.

Music columnist.