Alien Dream
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Alien Dream Review by Andy Garibaldi at Compact Disc Services (UK)
(as printed in the Psychedelic/space rock: (mini) supplement #8)

From Australia comes a psychedelic rock instrumental album that, while it has obvious references, is, the more
you listen to it, in a class of its own! Those references are myriad - Hawkwind, Gong, Ozrics, Floyd etc - but the
album also has quite incredible qualities that seperate it from the rest - subtlety, refinement, a relaxed atmosphere
and an abundance of quite georgous melodies. No acid rock bombasts or heady guitar driven psych fests, this is
just class playing. One thing you will particularly discover on the track: "Awake In A Dream" where the piano melody
that dominates the first half of the track sets the mood, suddenly gives way to a brief but dynamic electric lead guitar
and then suddenly fades, heightening the effect. Other times there is a sea of string like and cosmic rock synths that
spreads across the musical horizon, while crunchy drum work, guitar riffs that are slightly understated and bass
undercurrents provide the foundations, with electric guitar solos and synths featured strongly upfront, while all around
the feel of early 70's space rock is never far away thanks to the synth swoops and overall pace, but it's the fact that the
leads and solos are so melodic and clear that make this a real listening pleasure rather than a 100 mph sprint.
There is so much going on in the mix on most tracks that it takes three or four plays to spot it all, as a wealth of of
multilayered guitars, bass, drums, keys and synths take hold. The music is both spacey, rock and melodic, yet the pace
of the tracks allows you to take in all that is happening, while at the same time, lets you feel as though you are on a moving trip
that is revealing new and unusual sights as it goes. The use of keyboards and guitar on certain songs is somewhat akin to a mix
of mid paced early 70's Floyd, with fuzzed guitar figures rather than clean, precise leads - another difference from many bands that
are in a similar sphere. With 11 sizzling, strong, dynamic and reflective tracks on the album, this is for space-rock, psych and even
synth/prog aficionados alike - people who may have thought they'd had enough of or didn't like instrumental albums in this vein, as
well as thrilling the rest of us whosimply can't get enough of them as long as they are good and emotionally inspiring as this.

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Click here to read reviews of the Alien Dream albums and the performance at the 2nd Hawkwind festival, 2003.