~DREAMSCAPE REVIEW~
It’s easy not to take Gil Mantera’s Party Dream seriously. Between Donny’s vacuous stage banter, Gil’s fierce eagle tattoos, the Day-Glo spandex and their spot-on reworks of Stevie Nicks and Kano the group might easily be reduced to a sideshow act, a satirical sampling of the 1980’s worst (best) offerings. However, such a reading proves uneducated and unfulfilling. Behind the playful synth-pop sound of GMPD’s seminal album
Bloodsongs is a bleak, existential commentary on love and relationships. On “Building Rockets” Donny wails, “Do you know/And do you see/A future for you and me?” Songs like “Super Plus Ice Festival” and “Elmo’s Wish” reverberate with similar themes of romantic tumult. The only solution that Gil provides is getting stoned, as he suggests over the thick, syrupy pads of “Bunz Therapy.” If one reads between the lines it’s clear that the album has the capacity to operate as cynical and bitter retort to all the ladies (or dudes) that have done the Party Dream wrong.
However, if
Bloodsongs provides a discouraging outlook on love, GMPD’s new full-length album
Dreamscape presents a (temporary) solution. As the album title suggests, the dream world provides a space for Gil and Donny’s relationships to exist untarnished. The group references this idea multiple times on songs like “Dreamlovers” and “Get Sirius,” as well as the title track on which Donny sings, “Lost in a dream, and I can’t wait to have you back in my arms, here in my arms.” Gil’s blissful vocorder ballad “The Only One” also epitomizes such a feeling. Other than menstruation (maturely addressed in “Mood Swings”) the only hazard present in the
Dreamscape universe is the sounding of the alarm clock.
Sonically speaking the album demonstrates a mature shift from
Bloodsongs. Much of this evolution is thanks to the accumulation of A.E. Paterra (of Zombi fame [known as “the Hitman” on previous tours]) who provides the addition of live drums. An obvious inevitability, the drums give the new material a sense of depth and richness that was absent in their previous work. Donny’s vocals have also improved immensely and it sounds like Gil has found a few more settings on his vocorder. Personal favorites include “Eyes of Blue,” a phenomenal seven-minute progressive number and the aforementioned title track—when Gil’s weightless robotic voice floats in after the second chorus the effect is nothing short of euphoric. “Supra Natura” is perhaps the biggest departure from the group’s earlier sound, momentarily feeling akin to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” due to it’s percussion and ominous synth build. “Ballerina” is also an instant classic, featuring cascading arpeggios and heavy guitars (you might remember an earlier version made the #2 spot on our top 25 singles list).
With the exception of a few minor sound-mixing issues (Donny’s voice is a little faint in places) Dreamscape is essentially perfect—consider NAOH’s top nine singles of 2009 already determined. The only pitfall the Party Dream need be concerned about is becoming too conventional—live drumming is all fine and good but we would all hate for them to sound anything like their previous tour mates The Rapture. My only complaint is the complaint that comes attached to any great album: Why can’t there be more?! And as long as Donny keeps referencing drinking matches with Frogger and Gil continues to purchase cheap magic tricks, the Party Dream will remain my favorite live act of all time, edging out Daedelus, Jamie Lidell and even the monolithic Daft Punk.
Let’s just hope we never wake up.
Vidz:
1. "Dreamscape" live @ Do Division Fest in Chicago, IL
2. Brilliant cover of Stevie Nick's "Stand Back"
