Dreams We’ve Had – Everything and You (2019)
SQUATCH SCORE: 8/10
Highlights: it all feels the same, Darling, you can always kill yourself tomorrow, Perfectly Out Of Place
Least Favorite: News From The War
What a gorgeous record. Bennett Blumberg wears his influences on his sleeve—you can hear trace amounts of M83’s “Before The Dawn…”, Beach House’s “7”, The 1975’s early EPs, and Slowdive all over this thing—but he brews them to perfection. The crux of this record is heartbreak. However, despite having devastating amounts of lyrical melancholy, the *sound* is so heavenly that I find these songs painfully bittersweet. It sounds like the consciousness of someone who is frustrated and lovesick, yet still a firm believer in the beauty of the world and the music he is making.
Most of the success of this record rests in its sound design. A gripe I have with a great deal of dream pop and shoegaze music is its tendency to completely wash out the vocals without a real reason, but the timbre of Blumberg’s voice is crystalline and poignant. It pokes straight through the walls of heavenly synths straight to the listener without unnecessarily overriding the song. Around him is a highly dynamic record filled with meditative ambient moments and overpowering sonic peaks. Gorgeous climactic tracks like “it all feels the same” and “you can always kill yourself tomorrow” put on a masterclass of patience, as he carefully adds layers of sonic detail until they explode. Nowhere is this record lacking in poignant melancholy. “Darling” feels like a slow dance with a ghost. “Nothing Compares To You” hovers like a love story flashing before your eyes.
I do wish Bennett hadn’t re-recorded “Benny Boy” and “Aiyana”, as their original versions are among my favorite songs of his, but I suppose their re-recordings make sense. They have taken new lives with the project’s change in headspace. Regardless, this record is a beautiful and heartbreaking vision of lovesickness, one that I highly recommend.