Review Summary: Starry-eyed and full of wonder.
I’ve always wanted to master the subtle art of meditation, but I doubt that I ever will. I inherited an evil combination of Ukrainian and Italian temper from my parents alongside with the attention span of a mosquito. The closest I can get to that blissful state of a blank mind is by immersing myself in music. And there’s no place for half-measures. Only
truly immersive music can help me abandon the menial and the mundane.
Being a complete newbie to Dungeon Synth, I still had some half-assed, half formed expectations about the genre. None of them included hearing an album start with a sparkling, almost soaring melody in the vein of God is an Astronaut. “Dream I” soon settles for a more somber tune, but it still retains that fluid quality which I wouldn’t have expected. If it’s a dungeon, you can still see the stars from there. Throughout the remaining runtime, the opening track carefully leads you through its ebbs and flows, sometimes quieting down so that only the sound of the drum machine remains, and then returning to its wistful melodies. I certainly would not call the album meandering though. In fact, it’s one of the most focused records I’ve heard in a while. Instead of flowing with the music or letting the music flow by you, you get the sensation that the music here takes your hand and leads you somewhere, taking care not to rush, so that you had the time for sightseeing.
Where exactly does it lead you though? I personally get the impression of descending a downward staircase leading to… a dungeon, I guess. The initial spacey sensation is a fleeting one, and “Dream II” already feels like you are behind the walls of some ancient castle, perhaps washed by the sea. “Dream III” takes you further down and invokes the feeling of traveling together with a procession of dwarfs through some caves full of treasures and stalagmites. It even reminds me of “For to End Yet Again” by Arcturus, the other song that always makes me think about dwarfs. This sensation of a downward spiral persists throughout the album, as “Dream IV” feels like visiting a much colder cave, albeit still lightened up nicely with some ornamental lamps and ice patches reflecting their light, and "Dream V" features the weightiest melodies on the record. You can tell that this song means serious dungeon business, sometimes even invoking a sensation of being at the bottom of an ocean. Still, even at their most somber these melodies retain a certain twinkling quality to them, like you are seeing something beautiful through the wide open eyes of a child.
“Meandering Dreams of Forgotten Times” is a record of vivid imagery, calling to mind not so much dungeons as treasure caves, but also the hypnotic sounds of a sea and the distant but fascinating light of the stars. However, it all comes with a catch. Your listening experience would be much fuller and more enjoyable if you hear the album (especially for the first time) when your head is clear and you have 30-40 minutes of time safely reserved for yourself with minimum distractions. If your mind is cluttered, it would play out a bit differently. I did try to listen to “Meandering Dreams…” while being angry and irritated about something, and while I still enjoyed it and it helped me to calm down a bit, it was not a fully immersive experience that this album can be when you are in the right frame of mind. So, let go of your worries and concerns for a while, and open your heart and mind for a dreamy and fulfilling journey!
A footnote: this is more like 3.7/3.8 out of 5 for me, doesn’t quite reach the 4.0 score though.
