Album Review: Wild Arrows Release A Sonic “Dreamlike Dream”
Wild Arrows’ were not kidding when they titled their new electro/ synth-pop album, Dreamlike Dream. Built upon the music and spiritual remnants of Hurricane Sandy, which destroyed the studio of Wild Arrows’ singer/ songwriter, Mike Law, the album plays like a warped dream. Not quite nightmarish but also not quite fantasy, sonically, the record emanates the idea that dreams are not mainly about scaring or uplifting you; they are about exploring you.
Dreaming is one of the weirdest, most splendid parts of being human. We all have had those dreams that have stumped us with their meaning and how they connected to our conscious. It is that notion driving a large part of the album in songs, of which each song seems splendidly cut, compartmentalized, and offered to listeners as a sound-byte of Wild Arrows’ and Mike Law’s journey to making the album. After all, Hurricane Sandy happened in 2012, of which, since then, Mike Law has been re-building his life and sound. Along the road of re-start he met and collaborated with synth player Yasmin Reshamwala, who treats key like pieces of cake; each has a sonic filling that differs from the other, but never stops being relishable. “Seahorse/ Hummingbird” and “Oh-h” are like synth-castles being sonically constructed before your ears and thus eyes. It is as if they slowly cast over you to conquer each of your senses, yet these tracks like “Nervous” and “Alphabet Girl” do well to show Law’s soft-rock vocals.
There is daunting vulnerability to Law’s voice that brings a heaviness to his rather soft voice and higher notes. Such a weight makes sense considering the inspiration of the album, and the challenge Law placed upon himself to use the record as a chance of self-exploration. For Law, the album was not just about making music, but also making a man and a musician out of himself. Thus, whether he gently coos in tracks “Dark Me” or wanes and huffs his voice through “Dead Ends”, there is sentimental play in his voice, which goes well with the “dream theme”. Even though in most our dreams we are observers and rare participants, either way, we are left stumped by this alternate reality that uses poignant symbols to help us understand our “real” reality. Hence, the slight hints of vocal emotions come off like random, but understandable crashes that swish through listeners as they think upon either the mashed sounds and fuzzed words of “Deceiver” or “Breathe Through”. Once all is said and done, Wild Arrows’ Dreamlike Dream does well to further intrigue listeners in the dreamy world of their music. To Buy Dreamlike Dream on May 12 Click Here.
