Even if writing about music really is like dancing about architecture, applying descriptors is still a necessary evil. You could probably tag Brisbane’s Prog Psych. Americans would probably call them a Jam Band. Both would be correct.
Dreamtime hails from the depths of Brisbane’s underground scene and its music is as exploratory as it gets these days. Both feet are planted firmly in the late-‘60s scene of the US West Coast with a bit of Syd’s Floyd thrown in for good measure. These are meandering, weighty jams built on guitars and a nimble but minimalist engine room. “Sun” pulls in influences like Eastern ragas and percussive touches like chimes.
Originally released in 2012 and re-issued two years down the track by Conquest of Noise on gloriously tactile, thick 180gm vinyl, it’s a collection – OK, wankers would call it a “suite” - of seven songs spanning 37 minutes. It’s the second LP in a career of three so far and it’s unlike anything else that you’ll find filed under Contemporary Australian.
It really would be a travesty to take each track apart and describe its core components in detail. This is mood music; vocals are optional extras and when they do appear, it’s as murmured or indistinct motifs that are secondary to the music.
The swelling drone-buzz of “Centre of Mind” gives you some idea of what to expect.
Dreamtime makes a virtue of its spontaneity. I don’t how much of this album was put together on the fly. There’s a nice looseness about most of it that betrays some degree of improvisation. In the end that will only matter to wankers.
The dry, sparse production suits the sort of music Dreamtime plays. Affectations aren’t needed as the four players build soundscapes that never sound forced. Your best bet is to immerse yourself in the LP, turn it up, and go with the heavy sonic flow.
