To say this album is very dreamy would be both a pun and an understatement. Released in July, Restless Dreams borders on the lines of Soft Rock, is steeped in Electronica, and manages to put you to sleep – in the pleasant means of course. Still with all of those positives, for me, the album failed to deliver. In both of my listens, be they closely or through the midst of background noise, the music failed to capture my attention.
Some can argue that if one is not accustomed to listening to this particular style of music that they would not know the first thing to look for. However, in giving the entire album an uninterrupted listen, nothing stood out to me in the terms of mind blowing or “new and exciting”. The album did and excellent job of pulling the dreamscape concept together in both production and track placement itself and with tracks like ‘Wild World’ and ‘FallingCity’, Restless Dreams received a slight jolt of life that kept me somewhat interested. The basic duty of an album is to ebb and flow, find its climax, and gently come down to its wondrous finish. Here that job was completed almost effortlessly which, for the listener, begs the question, “How did I get lost?”
In all honesty, Restless Dreams play wonderfully as your sounds that get you to sleep or the filler for the shuffle on your iPod play list. And to be fair, this album is a excellent artistic endeavor that serves as a shinning testimony to conceptual music making. However, if its focus had married captivating entertainment with the high drama of concept, I would have possibly been more enthusiastic about my listens. I would suggest this album to anyone who is curious about the genre but not yet ready to dive in headfirst.
