IT WAS A GOOD DREAM // HELP ME TO RECOLLECT - CRYSTAL CLEAR WITH BLUE/ORANGE/RED SPLATTER VINYL (LP)
RELEASE DATE: 1st June 2019
The Boston, MA duo It Was A Good Dream travels within a world of delicate textures, contemplative nuance and passionate outpour, a band that encompasses the aesthetics of traditional post-rock while embracing its ever-growing sonic palette. Listeners will find carefully-crafted, elegantly twinkling guitar melodies whose sweet siren sounds call forth crescendos that come crashing with dramatic impact; looking between the lines of these quintessentially post-rock soothe-and-swell moments, though, one discovers a variety of colorful shadings that make the songs on Help Me To Recollect stand uniquely atop their own peak. Touches of trembling synth, electronic percussion accentuations, the unexpected but wholly-welcome surge of saxophone in a key instance, all these elements combine to create a multi-layered listening experience that invites both pensive introspection and intense emotional release.
Part of what makes Help Me To Recollect such an immersive experience is the manner in which it was recorded. The band went to Northeastern Massachusetts to visit a centuries-old Masonic temple which has been re-purposed as a studio; the architecture of this structure informs the entire record, lending tangible character and atmospherics to the resulting music, giving the drums more open space in which to live, allowing individual notes to reverberate deeply through the expanse of this space. Giving the songs over to this location allows these meticulously-planned compositions to take on an improvisatory sensibility, imbuing the album with a feeling of freedom that is of deep value to the listener. The songs on Help Me To Recollect invite exploration and discovery, an open-ended journey through a unique soundscape that rewards patience with genuine engagement.
An incredibly strong debut effort, Help Me To Recollect has helped bring It Was A Good Dream to immediate relevance. It is yet another addition to the musical landscape in the Northeastern United States, a region that has proven to be fertile soil for bands that champion tones both melancholic and mighty. The record releases May 24th via dunk!records and will no doubt be the topic of many excited conversations within the post-rock community.
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