Review Summary: You're sleeping on Dream the Electric Sleep.
Dream the Electric Sleep have always occupied a peculiar sonic plane between the blood, sweat, and tears fueled amplifier blasts of a humble, corn-fed rock and roll trio harvested from the fields of Kentucky and grand, soaring melodies and progressive leanings that strived to stretch across the sky. Blurring these two disparate styles has inadvertently landed Dream the Electric Sleep into a bit of an underserved niche – on one hand they are too cozy and straightforward for adrenaline hungry progressive rock fans and a little too long-winded and ambitious for fans of Kings of Leon-esque, steady Bible Belt riffing. Fifth album,
American Mystic, features the band taking a bolder, more streamlined approach to songwriting with strong results – and by streamlined, it only takes less than two minutes for dramatic album introduction, “And the Buried Rise”, to fly by and segue seamlessly into the urgent “Beyond Repair”.
Frontman Matt Page’s usually smooth trademark tenor, which sounds like a rough blend of Alter Bridge’s Myles Kennedy and Funeral for a Friend’s Matt Davies, adopts a bit of unexpected edge and trailblazes throughout the song, coupled with Chris Tackett’s racing bass and Joey Waters’ driving drums to create a compelling one-two punch to open the album. Follow up track “Forged in the Furnace” burns through a surprisingly short three-and-a-half-minute runtime with ease as Dream the Electric Sleep has never sounded as radio-ready and commercially appealing than they do here. Whereas the band’s latest album,
Beyond the Dark Wide Sky, enveloped listeners with an almost passive, dreamy darkness,
American Mystic utilizes refined songwriting to present songs with a more direct, aggressive character to figuratively grab listeners by the collar and demand attention this time around. Nowhere is this tonal shift exemplified more than on late album track, “Love Letters”. Despite bearing a title that could easily be misconstrued for a sappy ballad taken at face value, “Love Letters” is anything but. Waters’ relentless snare drum spanking leads the way as Page and Tackett’s riffing rages below, creating a seemingly straightforward rock ‘n roll barnburner. However, just as the tension reaches a boiling point, the trio smartly pull back into hypnotizing bridge featuring jaw-dropping vocal acrobatics from Page before cranking the heat up again to raze the song.
For those longing for those lengthier, bleeding-heart singalongs like Dream the Electric Sleep have been known for in the past, fret not. Album highlight “Steal the Love” serves as the unofficial spiritual anthem of the album and flaunts an arena-ready, lighters-in-the-sky chorus that will compel listeners to raise crank the volume dial to the right before eventually substituting their lighters for an air guitar. Additionally, triumphant closer “Lay Down the Cross” evolves from a reserved rocker into an immense procession combining massive riffs, mighty drumming, and Page pleading,
“Lay down the hammer, lay down the cross, lay down your burdens, and let there be love.”
While
American Mystic boasts both fiery bursts of passion and tender, contemplative refrains that culminate in a wholly impressive package, there are a couple weak points throughout the album. Centerpiece track, “The Lessons They Bring”, gradually unfolds into a dramatic and brooding slow-burner featuring soulful singing and jamming throughout the first five minutes of the song. Unfortunately, an extended outro jam emerges on the backend of the song that spans another four minutes. While the musical idea itself is shockingly engaging and easy to become lost within, the nine-minute length of the song itself seemed unnecessary. Second, track sequencing is always a touchy topic to criticize because if ten strangers were approached and asked to order these nine songs in a preferred manner, chances are they would provide ten different arrangements. That said, the sneakily explosive title track just sounds at home as the opener and for good measure, “And the Buried Rise” should have simply been absorbed into “Beyond Repair” as the second song to add extra flair as the introductory fireworks of “American Mystic” subsided.
Minor nitpicks aside,
American Mystic’s title track is the perfect stylistic encapsulation of the latest full-length album from Dream the Electric Sleep as the rather succinct four-minute piece combines the band’s aforementioned simplified approach with an enthralling, bubbling crescendo that gradually grows and grows into a stirring conclusion. Sonically, “American Mystic” blends the trio’s warm and heartfelt rock and roll foundation with their deep-rooted inclination to unapologetically stretch riffs and melodies into the sky. Stylistically and sonically, Dream the Electric Sleep’s fifth album,
American Mystic is a gem of thoughtful and dynamic progressive hard rock that should not be overlooked.
