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The Lucid Dream – The Lucid Dream (Holy Are You? Recordings)

April 15, 2015 by A.S. Van Dorston

The Lucid Dream - The Lucid Dream (Holy How Are You?, 2015)While there’s no shortage of bands practicing feedback-drenched psych rock, The Lucid Dream have been perfecting their own distinct recipe since their first EP in 2010 involving ingredients like garage noir, shoegaze, German kosmische/space rock, pre and post-NYC no-wave noise, and the pop melodicism that links early Echo & the Bunnymen with The Stone Roses. The result is a pretty badass, cohesive modern psych noir sound that I imagine catching fire with a pretty big audience. That it hasn’t yet is probably due to the massive number of bands dabbling in the sub-genre lately, and the fact that their small label (Holy Are You? Recordings) has only so much reach and marketing muscle.

The Carlisle, England band’s debut Songs Of Lies And Deceit (2013) featured a stark, black and white industrial landscape. Their self-titled second album appears quite similar, this time a shot on the waterfront. It would be misleading if it were a rainbow of psychedelic colors, as noir remains a strong element. However they have evolved some, the songs feeling more crafted and multilayered, leaving lingering impressions like when you close your eyes after being flashed by a powerful strobe light.

Specific influences can be spotted in the intro “Mona Lisa” (Spacemen 3), “Cold Killer” (Suicide), and elsewhere Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, even Adrian Sherwood style dub in “Unchained Dub.” But the whole album is cohesive and builds a compelling atmosphere of danger and mystery, at least for me. For others it might be suggestive of something else, but chances are excellent that it’ll be just as compelling. | Buy | Spotify

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