| The Lucid Dream |
| Compulsion Songs (23/09/2016) |
The Lucid Dream — Compulsion Songs (23/09/2016)
→ Carlisle psych voyagers return with their strongest set to date.
→ “The Lucid Dream make a very good case for the excitement and relevance of psychedelic music in the modern music scene with Compulsion Songs; a lean slice of powerful psychedelic rock which shows a band capable of swallowing pop~psychedelica (See Blossoms) for breakfast.” (Laura Cooper)
Location: Carlisle, United Kingdom
Style: psych–rockers
Album release: 23/09/2016
Record Label: Holy Are You Recordings
Duration: 44:12
Tracks:
1 Bad Texan 6:33
2 Stormy Waters 6:05
3 I’m a Star in My Own Right [Explicit] 8:08
4 The Emptiest Place 2:39
5 21st Century 2:00
6 Nadir 7:26
7 Epitaph 11:21
Credits
→ Bass — Mike Denton
→ Co~producer — Mark Emmerson
→ Drums, Percussion — Luke Anderson
→ Guitar, Synth — Wayne Jefferson
→ Mastered by — Dean Honer
→ Producer, Mixed by — Ross Halden
→ Recorded by, Engineer — Rob Whiteley at Whitewood Recording Studio (tracks: A1 to A3 and B1 to B3), Ross Halden (tracks: A4)
→ Vocals, Guitar, Synth, Melodica — Mark Emmerson
→ Written by — Mark Emmerson
Notes
→ Limited to 300 copies on Carlisle United Blue vinyl.
→ Included inner sleeve with credits.
→ This record was already sold out in the pre order. Therefore a reissue was pressed on black vinyl, The Lucid Dream (2) — Compulsion Songs
→ ‘This album is for Bobby Thomas Emmerson X’
Review
→ by Dom Gourlay October 4th, 2016; Score: 8
♠■★ As psychedelic rock seeps into every genre’s pore, its becoming increasingly difficult to separate the imitators from the originators with every passing release. Thankfully, Carlisle outfit The Lucid Dream have been ahead of the game from the first whistle. Their path from the first notes recorded has been one of continual development. Adding new elements to their already expansive sound with each passing recording. They’ve quietly found themselves elevated into the psych scene’s premier league without so much as a latent murmur or reference to other major players in their field.
♠■★ Whereas debut album Songs of Lies And Deceit announced their intentions albeit with a more traditional slant on proceedings, last year’s self~titled follow~up saw them push boundaries into territories many of their contemporaries wouldn’t dare to tread. Fusing ambient textures with dubby overtones, it attracted the attention of BBC 6 Music as well as picking up rave reviews all across the board. So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that album number three, Compulsion Songs, continues in a similar vein.
♠■★ Recorded late last year at Liverpool’s Whitewood Studios with Rob Whiteley who co~produced the record with Leeds based sound engineer Ross Halden. Compulsion Songs highlights each individual element of The Lucid Dream’s make~up and like its predecessor, takes the listener on a journey that is never predictable but always rewarding.
♠■★ What has always been apparent about The Lucid Dream is that despite being pigeonholed with the psych crowd, they’ve never towed the same line as many around them. Instead, their music has managed to mirror the true definition of psychedelia in that no rules are followed or adhered to and as a result no set pattern emerges. Which can only be a good thing.
♠■★ Opener and lead single ‘Bad Texan’ introduces the album in tumultuous style. Crashing drums give way to a bassline that shuffles along like the funky drummer on acid before loud guitars reign supreme. Fusing all the main components of a Lucid Dream live show ~ and believe me they’re an entirely different proposition altogether in the flesh. It’s the nearest they’ve come on tape thus far to replicating their explosive show.
♠■★ The laidback groove of ‘Stormy Waters’ provides an element of tranquility before ‘I’m A Star In My Own Right’ combines eight minutes of dub and reverb invoked haze. Coming on like a soundclash orchestrated by Lee Perry and Kevin Shields, it takes the template ordained on 2015’s ‘Unchained Dub’ to its next inevitable checkpoint. Demonstrating the band’s more experimental side in the process, the piece eventually eclipsies into a monolith reminiscent of The Black Angels ‘Science Killer’ or even ‘Armagideon Time’ by The Clash.
♠■★ Two short compositions follow suit in the shape of ‘The Emptiest Place’ and ‘21st Century’. While the former takes The Coral’s blueprint for psychedelic sea shanties into punk rock territories, the latter comes on like a Pink Floyd outtake albeit given a post~millennial makeover. What appears to be an air raid siren introduces ‘Nadir’, a seven~and~a~half minutes long opus that’s anything but. Once again, dub production techniques take over while Mark Emmerson’s vocals subtly glide in and out of the mix. Better still is ‘Epitaph’, which segues into focus as ‘Nadir’ draws to a close. At eleven minutes and twenty seconds, it represents The Lucid Dream’s most audacious moment to date. Yet ultimately cements their status as one of psychedelic rock’s most forward thinking outfits. “I’m not coming down!” insists Emmerson over a cavalcade of white noise and as Compulsion Songs aims for and eventually reaches the stars, who are we to argue. ♠■★ http://drownedinsound.com/
Also:
By Richard Lewis
→ http://www.beardedmagazine.com/index.php/albums/article/the-lucid-dream-compulsion-songs-holy-are-you-recordings
Review by Laura Cooper, October 6, 2016 2:00 pm
→ http://review.cuckoowriters.com/album-review-compulsion-songs-by-the-lucid-dream/
by Jeff Penczak, on 17 September 2016 / Score: 5
→ http://soundblab.com/reviews/album-reviews/16088-the-lucid-dream-compulsion-songs
ROSS MCGIBBON, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
→ http://www.vanguard-online.co.uk/the-lucid-dream-compulsion-songs-is-a-huge-and-psychedelic-baggy-dance-extravaganza/
→ Rédigé par Jean~Christophe Gé, le 26 septembre 2016 / Score: ****½
→ Les morceaux épiques qui dépassent presque tous les six minutes n’assomment pas l’auditeur jusqu’à le mettre en transe. C’est plutôt un voyage conscient, en mode long courrier, que le groupe entreprend vers des espaces lumineux, voire joyeux. L’Epitaph est une chanson entraînante et joyeuse, des ambiances étonnantes pour clore un album psyché/shoegazing. Même si le morceau se termine par un « never coming back » hurlé en boucle, j’espère que The Lucid Dreams repasseront bientôt en studio pour poursuivre l’évolution réussie de leur rock psyché inspiré et entraînant.
→ http://www.soundofviolence.net/articles/album/4086/the_lucid_dream_compulsion_songs.html
CONTACT:
Label/press/UK bookings/general enquiries:
European bookings:
Shop: holyareyourecordings.bigcartel.co.uk
Bandcamp: http://theluciddream.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLucidDreamUK
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/the_lucid_dream
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LucidDreamThe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theluciddream
Blog: https://www.youtube.com/user/LucidDreamThe
♠■★–♦–________________________________________________–♦–★■♠
| The Lucid Dream |
| Compulsion Songs (23/09/2016) |
→ “The Lucid Dream make a very good case for the excitement and relevance of psychedelic music in the modern music scene with Compulsion Songs; a lean slice of powerful psychedelic rock which shows a band capable of swallowing pop~psychedelica (See Blossoms) for breakfast.” (Laura Cooper)
Location: Carlisle, United Kingdom
Style: psych–rockers
Album release: 23/09/2016
Record Label: Holy Are You Recordings
Duration: 44:12
Tracks:
1 Bad Texan 6:33
2 Stormy Waters 6:05
3 I’m a Star in My Own Right [Explicit] 8:08
4 The Emptiest Place 2:39
5 21st Century 2:00
6 Nadir 7:26
7 Epitaph 11:21
Credits
→ Bass — Mike Denton
→ Co~producer — Mark Emmerson
→ Drums, Percussion — Luke Anderson
→ Guitar, Synth — Wayne Jefferson
→ Mastered by — Dean Honer
→ Producer, Mixed by — Ross Halden
→ Recorded by, Engineer — Rob Whiteley at Whitewood Recording Studio (tracks: A1 to A3 and B1 to B3), Ross Halden (tracks: A4)
→ Vocals, Guitar, Synth, Melodica — Mark Emmerson
→ Written by — Mark Emmerson
Notes
→ Limited to 300 copies on Carlisle United Blue vinyl.
→ Included inner sleeve with credits.
→ This record was already sold out in the pre order. Therefore a reissue was pressed on black vinyl, The Lucid Dream (2) — Compulsion Songs
→ ‘This album is for Bobby Thomas Emmerson X’
Review
→ by Dom Gourlay October 4th, 2016; Score: 8
♠■★ As psychedelic rock seeps into every genre’s pore, its becoming increasingly difficult to separate the imitators from the originators with every passing release. Thankfully, Carlisle outfit The Lucid Dream have been ahead of the game from the first whistle. Their path from the first notes recorded has been one of continual development. Adding new elements to their already expansive sound with each passing recording. They’ve quietly found themselves elevated into the psych scene’s premier league without so much as a latent murmur or reference to other major players in their field.
♠■★ Whereas debut album Songs of Lies And Deceit announced their intentions albeit with a more traditional slant on proceedings, last year’s self~titled follow~up saw them push boundaries into territories many of their contemporaries wouldn’t dare to tread. Fusing ambient textures with dubby overtones, it attracted the attention of BBC 6 Music as well as picking up rave reviews all across the board. So it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that album number three, Compulsion Songs, continues in a similar vein.
♠■★ Recorded late last year at Liverpool’s Whitewood Studios with Rob Whiteley who co~produced the record with Leeds based sound engineer Ross Halden. Compulsion Songs highlights each individual element of The Lucid Dream’s make~up and like its predecessor, takes the listener on a journey that is never predictable but always rewarding.
♠■★ What has always been apparent about The Lucid Dream is that despite being pigeonholed with the psych crowd, they’ve never towed the same line as many around them. Instead, their music has managed to mirror the true definition of psychedelia in that no rules are followed or adhered to and as a result no set pattern emerges. Which can only be a good thing.
♠■★ Opener and lead single ‘Bad Texan’ introduces the album in tumultuous style. Crashing drums give way to a bassline that shuffles along like the funky drummer on acid before loud guitars reign supreme. Fusing all the main components of a Lucid Dream live show ~ and believe me they’re an entirely different proposition altogether in the flesh. It’s the nearest they’ve come on tape thus far to replicating their explosive show.
♠■★ The laidback groove of ‘Stormy Waters’ provides an element of tranquility before ‘I’m A Star In My Own Right’ combines eight minutes of dub and reverb invoked haze. Coming on like a soundclash orchestrated by Lee Perry and Kevin Shields, it takes the template ordained on 2015’s ‘Unchained Dub’ to its next inevitable checkpoint. Demonstrating the band’s more experimental side in the process, the piece eventually eclipsies into a monolith reminiscent of The Black Angels ‘Science Killer’ or even ‘Armagideon Time’ by The Clash.
♠■★ Two short compositions follow suit in the shape of ‘The Emptiest Place’ and ‘21st Century’. While the former takes The Coral’s blueprint for psychedelic sea shanties into punk rock territories, the latter comes on like a Pink Floyd outtake albeit given a post~millennial makeover. What appears to be an air raid siren introduces ‘Nadir’, a seven~and~a~half minutes long opus that’s anything but. Once again, dub production techniques take over while Mark Emmerson’s vocals subtly glide in and out of the mix. Better still is ‘Epitaph’, which segues into focus as ‘Nadir’ draws to a close. At eleven minutes and twenty seconds, it represents The Lucid Dream’s most audacious moment to date. Yet ultimately cements their status as one of psychedelic rock’s most forward thinking outfits. “I’m not coming down!” insists Emmerson over a cavalcade of white noise and as Compulsion Songs aims for and eventually reaches the stars, who are we to argue. ♠■★ http://drownedinsound.com/
Also:
By Richard Lewis
→ http://www.beardedmagazine.com/index.php/albums/article/the-lucid-dream-compulsion-songs-holy-are-you-recordings
Review by Laura Cooper, October 6, 2016 2:00 pm
→ http://review.cuckoowriters.com/album-review-compulsion-songs-by-the-lucid-dream/
by Jeff Penczak, on 17 September 2016 / Score: 5
→ http://soundblab.com/reviews/album-reviews/16088-the-lucid-dream-compulsion-songs
ROSS MCGIBBON, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
→ http://www.vanguard-online.co.uk/the-lucid-dream-compulsion-songs-is-a-huge-and-psychedelic-baggy-dance-extravaganza/
→ Rédigé par Jean~Christophe Gé, le 26 septembre 2016 / Score: ****½
→ Les morceaux épiques qui dépassent presque tous les six minutes n’assomment pas l’auditeur jusqu’à le mettre en transe. C’est plutôt un voyage conscient, en mode long courrier, que le groupe entreprend vers des espaces lumineux, voire joyeux. L’Epitaph est une chanson entraînante et joyeuse, des ambiances étonnantes pour clore un album psyché/shoegazing. Même si le morceau se termine par un « never coming back » hurlé en boucle, j’espère que The Lucid Dreams repasseront bientôt en studio pour poursuivre l’évolution réussie de leur rock psyché inspiré et entraînant.
→ http://www.soundofviolence.net/articles/album/4086/the_lucid_dream_compulsion_songs.html
CONTACT:
Label/press/UK bookings/general enquiries:
European bookings:
Shop: holyareyourecordings.bigcartel.co.uk
Bandcamp: http://theluciddream.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheLucidDreamUK
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/the_lucid_dream
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/LucidDreamThe
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theluciddream
Blog: https://www.youtube.com/user/LucidDreamThe
♠■★–♦–________________________________________________–♦–★■♠