Review Summary: The Dear Hunter goes to Merriweather Post Pavilion and sings about love and babies.
SUNBEARS! is a two-man indie/electro-pop band from Jacksonville, Florida.
Jonathan Berlin - vocals, bass, guitar, keys, synthesizer
Jared Bower - drums, percussion
Is it possible to make a hyper-happy electro-pop album without giving the listener something that is cheesy or cloying? SUNBEARS! ventures into Sufjan Stevens/Animal Collective territory and comes out triumphant. Jon and Jared employ a lot of the genre's more commonly-used techniques with skill, while making one very noticeable change which works oh so well.
What makes
Dream Happy Dreams stand out? Would you believe me if I told you it's the drums? Yes, an electro-pop album with raw, (mostly) unadulterated, rather LOUD (at times), drums. There are several aspects of the EP which remind me of The Dear Hunter, not least of which is this. Think about the drums on Black EP and Red EP from Dear Hunter's
Color Spectrum, and you've pretty much got it nailed. Pretty loud on the mix, and heavy emphasis on the downbeats: this style of drumming really works for indie/electro-pop, as it drives the song along, providing backbone and preventing any lulls – a common pitfall for indie songs.
Speaking of indie, ever heard of Ben Gibbard? Of course you have. Jonathan Berlin's voice has Ben's distinctive tinge to it during the softer parts of
Dream Happy Dreams. And yet, that is not the whole story. When the singing gets louder, Hyde aka Casey Crescenzo appears. The same almost-strained, almost-yelling beauty that Casey has can be felt. Both variations are great.
The comparisons to The Dear Hunter don't stop there. While this
is a review about SUNBEARS!, it is only accurate and helpful to continue said comparisons. The songs on
Dream Happy Dreams often have that orchestral, almost rock-opera feel to them thanks to cameos from horns, tubas, accordions, xylophones, etc. The songs are prone to burst into bombast at any time. And yet, restraint is used. The artists aren't throwing random instruments in to be exotic or different. Every 'crazy instrument cameo' makes sense in its respective context.
Oh, but we can't forget the 'electro' in 'electro-pop'. The sampling and electronics on this album are tasteful and well thought out. It never feels excessive. The overall production on the cd is great. Everything is on-point, nothing feels too soft or loud. The most electronic work you will hear is in the last song, which is simply an eight-second section of music repeated over and over for almost five minutes. It is very soothing (almost mind-numbing) and can actually be listened to entirely without becoming annoying.
While it is my personal opinion that the music tells the whole story and lyrics are just additions to reinforce the main idea and allow the vocal instrument to do something other than 'ooo' and 'aaa' the whole time, I realize that some people do like to read about them. The lyrics on this EP range from standard happy fare to somewhat-deep and thought-provoking. The chorus of “All You Need Is Sleep” is beautiful, but the words are simply “I need you like a baby needs his mom, like a flower needs the sun.” There's slightly more to the “I'm Alive” lyrics. The song talks about a man in space who asks the main character to race to the next star, but the main character protests that he isn't an angel and has no wings. Later, the man offers his hand, presumably so the main character will be able to fly with him, but the singer would rather keep both feet on the ground. The man frowns at him.
Why is
Dream Happy Dreams not a five? I really have no qualms with the album. None. It just isn't
quite as enjoyable as a five album would be. It isn't something you can quantify. To channel Meatloaf I will say that four and a half ain't bad. This SUNBEARS! effort is not as lengthy as their upcoming LP, but the grandiose feel of each song and interesting combination of musical techniques packs quite a punch. Do yourself a favor and check out this indie gem.
