Ben Lee
Deeper Into Dream
Dangerbird
Aussie expatriate and current L.A. resident Ben Lee has never taken a predicable path. Beginning with his stint with the lo-fi teen band Noise Addict, he’s made it a point to stir irreverence and insurgency in equal measure. (The group’s first single, “I Wish I Was Him,” was a not so guarded swipe at Evan Dando.) In 2009, Lee delved into conceptual works with the release of Rebirth of Venus, a tribute to the Roman goddess of love that served as the album’s namesake. Two years later, he reemerges with an equally compelling notion, a song cycle that revolves around nocturnal ruminations. Happily, Deeper Into Dream is as vivid as it is visual, ten songs sandwiched by passages that find a seemingly random group of people offering detailed descriptions of their dreams. That’s intriguing enough – most of these night time encounters are surely weirder than those experienced by the people who are hearing them – so not surprisingly, the songs maintain that same somnolent quality. “Lean Into It,” “Glue” and the title track embrace a casual psychedelic haze, while “My Second Dream” evokes a similar sense of narcolepsy. And with many of the tracks melding together, the dream-like delirium is maintained throughout. So even when “The Church of Everybody Else,” “When the Light Goes Out” and “Get Used To It” pick up the pace, the seductive set-up makes Deeper Into Dream worth staying awake for. – Lee Zimmerman
Lee Zimmerman is a contributor to a variety of publications, including Blurt, M Music & Musicians, New Times, Goldmine and Amplifier
This review appears courtesy of Amplifier, 50,000 Watts of Non-Stop Indie Rock http://amplifiermagazine.blogspot.com/
