Things don’t feel…‘quite right’. We know it. We sense it. And yet, when we try to articulate that gnawing, festering seam of troubled disquiet lurking beneath our every waking moment, there’s never one clear target at which we can point. The bustling river of our emotions swirls with blurred complexities sending ripples to every corner of our world, colouring everything we see and all that we think and feel.
Although we may well have become used to the seemingly endless abundance of dystopian resonances making themselves felt in and through our daily lives, we are far from reconciled to their presence. The wilful and self-annihilating destruction of our world, the ravages of war and the ever-present turmoil of conflict mix with lives already buffeted with stress, anxiety and hopelessness. When the world feels as if it is on the brink of collapse, where can we go?
“Welcome”, sings Gabby Vessoni’s gorgeously alluring voice, “to a new dimension / where all the pain is left behind / Welcome to our new dreamension” where, just for a while, we can leave the anguish of the world behind. The enticing artwork on the album’s cover provides the key to understanding the musical journey ahead. Step beyond the calming vision of utopia teasingly dangled in the mirror. We are being offered music which speaks to the heart of what we yearn for most: comfort, solace, reassurance and the possibility of hope.
The title track flies the flag for the first of the key features which make this album so special. Dreamension (Track 2) bursts with cascades of contrasting textures. A gritty opening outburst of layered keys gives way to a beautifully framed and delicate vocal against a calm backdrop. The chorus feels like an emotional embrace welcoming us home, triumphant, safe – a place of sanctuary from the troubling currents buffeting us on all sides. Shifting time signatures and a swaggering guitar solo soar and echo across the soundscape before tranquillity is briefly restored, and the momentum builds to an abrupt end.
Had It All (Track 3) is a remarkable showcase for the powerful, evocative and emotive vocal range which Gabby brings to all the songs on the album. The opening is delicate, wistful, seeping with yearning and regret. The environmental angst is unmistakable. The longing and the loss is palpable: “we had it all, then we let it all slip away, slip away”. This time the guitar cuts across the impassioned vocal crescendo, aching, dripping with pathos, painting a striking lament as rough in its textures as their contrast with Gabby’s voice is silky in decrying the foolishness of what is happening all around us: “We need to stop for a moment / But deep inside / We all can feel it / All we take, all we’re giving / Will make us fade away.”
Underwater (Track 4) brings a third feature to the musical party in the form of exquisitely crafted and deliciously complex arrangements. The lyrics speak of personal lostness: a ship lost at sea, we don’t know where to turn or which direction to take. Celo Oliveira’s chuggy staccato guitar chords punch home a disorienting sense of isolation, of being alone. The pace then changes to a soaring refrain, astonishingly beautiful in its passion. The siren’s voice calls us: “Sailing through the storm / Lost in the sea, can’t turn back / Everyday we’re closer to the end.” A formidable bassline cranks the momentum to greater intensity: “Sailing through the storm / All your dreams pass you by / All that’s left are footprints in the sand / Washed away.” The voice beckons us to our destruction on the rocks of the very progress we hold dear. The light goes out. The drums become frantic, desperate, insistent. That bass line….but wait: a new phase, the guitar wailing, forlorn, hollow in its melancholy.
Streets of Life (Track 5) effortlessly illustrates the bewitching shifts of tempo and mood, which permeate the entire album with a glorious sense of soul. The heartfelt elegance of the chorus, the towering vocal, and the gorgeous harmonies sweep you off your feet. Yet we swing back to choppy guitar chords, transiting to a soft, echoed vocal against a simple keyboard background. The expansive soundscape explodes with buzzing, swelling layers and harmonies, alive with sensuous purpose and delights. The guitar solo is perfection writ large: an interjection emerging from and rising above it all, carrying us on an emotional triumphant high and bringing us back down to earth again. Stunning.
The closing track, Cry For Hope (Track 10), nails its colours firmly to the mast. “Apathy / Left us all behind / Suddenly There’s nothing left inside / We cry now / Cry now / A cry for hope.” The disconsolate vocal is cradled in a plodding tempo as if bereft of life. An extended guitar solo cries in the ghostly, gloomy wilderness. It peters out to an acoustic guitar with flute, the mood lightening, the chord sequences rising, until Gabby’s pensive voice returns, underpinned by sturdy guitar chords. We are left with a single sentiment: “What a day…”
Dreamension is a glorious album, gratifying in the sheer depths of its poignancy, sublime in the heights of melodic harmonies, remarkable for the intelligence and discernment of its songwriting, and overwhelming in the sheer beauty of its musical expression. It speaks to all our struggles, the stories we tell that help us cope and the courage we find to resist the overwhelming forces which threaten to destroy our world. I lost my heart to this fabulous album. It is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, my album of 2024.
TRACK LISTING
01. Dead Butterflies (6:02)
02. Dreamension (5:22)
03. Had It All (7:36)
04. Underwater (6:12)
05. Streets Of Life (5:41)
06. Sorrow Collector (4:50)
07. Beyond The Mirror (5:46)
08. Face The Truth (5:07)
09. Not Alone II (6:07)
10. Cry For Hope (5:33)
Total Time – 58:18
MUSICIANS
Celo Oliveira – All Instruments
Gabby Vessoni – Vocals
ADDITIONAL INFO
Record Label: Grand Tour Music
Format: Digipak, Streaming, Download
Country of Origin: Brazil
Date of Release: 27th September 2024
LINKS
Fleesh – Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube | X | Instagram | Soundcloud
