B-Side Guys

Noah Mroueh remembers flying monkeys breaking through his bedroom window glass. That recurring childhood nightmare becomes the foundation for “Deluxe Nightmare,” the grungy, distorted centerpiece of ARK IDENTITY’s six-track EP that transforms fear into cathartic release. The Toronto dream-pop artist leans into claustrophobia deliberately—fuzzy guitars, rougher vocal takes, repetition that mimics being stuck in a loop you can’t wake from. The track even keeps the shouting section cues in the background, a perfectly imperfect moment that mirrors nightmares unravelling in real time.

The production builds on live one-take drum and guitar beds, embracing rawness as aesthetic choice rather than limitation. Recorded with Philippe Andre (who also plays drums), mixed by Matty Green, and mastered by Kristian Montano, the track achieves what Mroueh aimed for: something that sounds grungy, distorted, almost suffocating at times. His vocals, guitars, bass, and keyboards layer over Andre’s percussion to create soundscapes that feel simultaneously expansive and trapped, capturing the paradox of nightmares where everything feels both enormous and inescapable.

The lyrics document the experience of waiting for morning while being given warnings, hitting and falling repeatedly while the feeling keeps going on and on. There’s a particular desperation in trying to keep breathing in the moment, hoping you’ll be here in the morning while feeling them chase after you. The cryptic refrain “all mind is fine / less look divine” suggests dissociation, the mental tricks required to survive fear until you wake. When Mroueh sings about leaving it up to fate or thinking he knows how to wake from the dream, it’s delivered without certainty—just attempts at strategies that might work.

The track closes the EP with screaming monkeys and flapping wings fading out, a surreal finale that commits fully to its nightmare premise. Following his debut ANNDALE EP from late 2024 (which earned playlist support from Apple Music US, Amazon Music, and Spotify, plus an ADA/Warner Music distribution deal), Mroueh has been named one of 2024’s most exciting new artists by EARMILK for crafting immersive soundscapes that feel timeless and contemporary.

Drawing from influences like Tame Impala, Oasis, Bon Iver, Foster The People, and The Beatles, ARK IDENTITY weaves dream-pop with psychedelia into something that invites reflection and discovery. But “Deluxe Nightmare” pushes further into discomfort than typical dream-pop allows. Mroueh explains the EP taught him to stop avoiding uncomfortable things—many songs started from anxious thoughts or moments of fear, but instead of shutting them out, he leaned in. That approach yields music that finds beauty not by avoiding terror but by diving straight into it, proving that even when fear takes hold, there’s release on the other side.