Is there such a thing as dreamicana? I ask because stepping into the sonic world Wren + Wilde unlocks with the release of the aptly named Serial Dreamers feels like a roots-music lucid dream, sitting somewhere between sonic reality and otherworldly memory.
And if that sounds like we are wandering into the realm of ambient drift and floating soundscapes, by the time the opener, ‘Gitchi Gami’, finishes, such notions will be dashed, having taken us from tumbling acoustic grace to searing roots-rock crescendos, from the delicate to the devastating. Songs like ‘Caverns’ could, perhaps, be considered part of the ambient world if they weren’t tethered to reality by shuffling beats and more robust guitar work; ‘Luella’ subconsciously reminds us that American roots sounds owe much to Celtic connections to the Old World.
But these brilliantly reserved songs are balanced by more driven tracks such as the country-rock of ‘Heartstrings,’ the brooding bluesscapes of ‘Wool Suit,’ which feels less like another world and more an echo of another era, and the country jaunt of ‘Haunted House.’
At turns Serial Dreamers nods to country traditions and modern Americana urges, lush Laurel Canyon soundscapes and folk as old as the Cork and Kerry Mountains themselves, and is woven from such wonderful juxtapositions as delicacy and drive, grace and groove.
Any band would be proud to release an album of such high standards and exquisite benchmarks at any point in their careers; having this as your debut speaks volumes and marks Wren + Wilde as a band you really need to watch closely.
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