Album Review: Gap Dream’s This Is Gap Dream Feels Like An Intergalactic Dorm Room
I knew that title would get ya! An intergalactic dorm room? Huh? Gap Dream wrote his new album, This Is Gap Dream, under an existential crisis. Now aged 35 and trapped in a vinyl warehouse in Fullerton, he started sampling sounds from his childhood memorabilia like, his Nintendo. With only a Macbook at hand, he created an album that is fueled by tentative question: does growing up mean growing old?
It is not easy to age because, in part, it feels like getting older is associated with getting tired. Yet, as I myself age, I feel a burst of energy brewing within me that goes beyond wrinkles and rising exhaustion. Thus, Gap Dream’s newest album is a fascinating ode to being young forever. You do not have to take away your childhood joys like, Nintendo, because you have a 401k. This reality is what makes This Is Gap Dream feel like a mystical journey through college. The auteur even wrote a song called College Music, showing that youthful joy does not need to fade in exuberance or presence. Being young is an inner sentiment, and it is up to you to keep it. Hence, there is an innate freshness to Gap Dream’s music, but there is also fun, space-like quality.
It makes sense that Gap Dream’s album would feel intergalactic and child-like, all at once. Again, he did use Nintendo for inspiration, which explains, while listening, why you might try to shoot laser beams at meteorites or truly believe that jumping on mushrooms will make you an 18 foot Italian guy called Mario. This fantastical, cartoonish take on life makes listeners think they have taken a psychedelic trip into a confused soul. The lyrics show battles of loneliness. abandonment, lostness, and overall yearning for “something” without knowing what “something” is. The themes are timeless for an album based in trying to see and define what it means to “age”. In addition, Gap Dream’s slow spacey voice allows for this surrealist look into emotions.
Gap Dream’s voice feels like a distant star observing earthly life. It is filled with the dust of every emotion, but the enlightened desire to feel good. His vocals combine with the cosmic song compositions to give a distant feel like, you too are observing earthly life from somewhere more colorful but still thoughtful. For fans of 1960’s/ 70’s psychedelia or 80’s electronica, this album will feel like gold upon your hands. It is a mental trip into spiritual confusion and hope.
Favorite Tracks:
Modern Rhythms– the quick drumming and synthetic strikes of keyboard make this song feel like a mosh pit of music. As Gap Dream sings his lyrics with passion, the space driven rhythms make you want to jump frenetically until you join them in energy.
Shy Boy: this song feels like a lost track from Ziggy Stardust. Its instrumentals sound like broken radio waves that, when combined with the somber lyrics, makes listeners absorb the sense of coyness blocking the protagonist.
Greater Find: this is purely instrumental, but I love how it sounds like the most beautiful, playful combination of 80’s video game soundtracks.
Rock N’ Roll: there is a cool, noir feel to this song that reminds of jukebox rock. When “leather jacketheads” would kick the jukebox, and every guy and girl would start twisting.
Click Here to learn more about Gap Dream, and buy the album, This Is Gap Dream, on July 22. ENJOY!
