Lemmiwinks Posted August 30, 2004 Share Posted August 30, 2004 1. Sleepwalker 2. Emotions 3. Electroshock 4. Cat on Mushroom 2004 5. Daybreaks 6. Raver 7. Tranceformer 8. Mechanical Dream 9. Rising Force Space Cat has developed a pretty interesting style here... it's kindof in between progressive and full-on but still with a nice oldschool touch (ah those melodies!!!). And indeed, IMO the album title captures the feeling very well: the progressive side gives it a mechanical feeling while the melodies give it a dreamy feeling. I won't be going into each track as they all sound similar. But I will tell you that those beautifull melodies and atmospheres are well worth buying this! Very dreamy stuff, perfect for those early hours or even for home listening. But i suppose you want to hear a comment on the 04 version of Cat on Mushroom well, it has a lot of screaming 303s but personally I prefered the original version... Conclusion definatley one of the best albums released this year. Those nice melodies will bring a smile on the face of any oldschooler (and others as well ) 9/10 Lemmiwinks (aka moondancer from older psynews reviews) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seraph Posted August 31, 2004 Share Posted August 31, 2004 Great album ! I also think it is one of the best this year. Very melodic with nice pace and good rhythms.Avi again managed to make good album, after 3 pretty good ones. This is his second best after Shapes Of Sound. Every song has clear melodic line followed by nice synths, basslines and effects. I like every song on album and the best are EMOTIONS, ELECTRO SHOCK, TRANCEFORMER, MECHANICAL DREAM...9/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted August 31, 2004 Author Share Posted August 31, 2004 oops, sorry, I realize that Cat on Mushroom - 2004 is another project by Space Cat and IM, NOT a 2004 remix of their previous work. sorry.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I really have to agree with Lemmiwink's review of this album. Another great album that has been released this year. I guess melodic psytrance is finally comming back!! The album has really some kind of old-school goa touch but it is still sounding very fresh and modern. It is much better than the last two albums, and they were also not too bad. So I can just advice you to give it a try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted September 7, 2004 Author Share Posted September 7, 2004 well personally I didn't really like his first album and I like this one so that should mean that they don't sound that much alike. I haven't heard his second album so I can't comment on that. But my feelings is that this is a new style, different from the first 2, but he does bring back those oldschool melodies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbe Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 From my point of view Tranceformer and Mechanical Dream are good tracks. The track with infected mushroom is so bad....... The rest is average. Not very creative. I'm sure Avi can make better music than that. Maybe he loose time with the Aliens Vs the cat album.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ormion Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 The only weak point is that sometimes is a bit too clubby. But yeah it's really good, very dreamy. And the Cat On Mushroom track is really gooood!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest djnemo Posted September 14, 2004 Share Posted September 14, 2004 I just love those Acid Lines in the 2004 track. Is that ReBirth?! It sure sounds like it hehehe, but nevertheless, it sounds great... i LOVE the oldschool touch in it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnab Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Damn. Its goooood.... wayWAY better than the second one. I'll take that back.. Its not that good after a couple of listenings.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rain Posted October 18, 2004 Share Posted October 18, 2004 I like number 8th the most... not to fast and perfect melody at the end... ... still every track is good but if you listen to the whole release at one time it's not that good anymore... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemmiwinks Posted October 18, 2004 Author Share Posted October 18, 2004 I'll take that back.. Its not that good after a couple of listenings.. me too!! It just becomes more and more boring the more you listen to it... It's one of those "wow" albums that make a very good first impression but then just sound bad... Actually I had a very similar experience with the Four Carry Nuts album at the beginning of this year... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatsu Posted October 21, 2004 Share Posted October 21, 2004 me too!! It just becomes more and more boring the more you listen to it... It's one of those "wow" albums that make a very good first impression but then just sound bad... Actually I had a very similar experience with the Four Carry Nuts album at the beginning of this year... 199784[/snapback] Nope, for me it's still a masterpiece, but to each his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riton Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 LOVE this album. My favs are 1,3,4,5 and 8. Full On at its best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pandemonium Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 My favorite track on this album is the most clubby sounding one. Raver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Cocco Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 SPACE CAT - MECHANICAL DREAM 1. Sleepwalker 2. Emotions 3. Electroshock 4. Cat on Mushroom 2004 5. Daybreaks 6. Raver 7. Tranceformer 8. Mechanical Dream 9. Rising Force Mechanical Dream is Space Cats 4th album, a Full On Psytrance release. The artist's style seems to change on each album, but the melody/sound work is almost always, ALWAYS good. For starters, this is more formulaic, less dark than previous releases. The artist sticks to his mechanical psy/melodic sound that propelled his previous three albums. There are some good/great melodies, atmospheric and ambient elements, and more. 1. Sleepwalker begins with a dreamy/Chill introduction. It's good! Unfortunately what follows is pretty derivative-- a fairly generic, lackluster number stripped of the details and dynamic ingredients that made the artists previous work more visionary, complex and memorable. C+ 2. Emotions is a moderate improvement thanks to the melody/sound work. It's more developed here, and seems to tell a story to keep us interested. Coupled with attractive, mechanical sounds, the second third is substantially catchier than the first. The song's structure is fairly simple, but the ingredients and direction is so much more enjoyable than the opening track. B 3. Electroshock continues the more focused, catchier, and tighter approach since Emotions (when compared to Sleepwalker that was putting me to sleep). This vehicle has more momentum and drive. It develops nicely and takes me to places worth visiting that are also dance friendly. Rather than having a fully developed Goa melody, the artist uses a piece of what could have been one to energize the vehicle and support the Full On approach. It works well, and the artist provides two very good and engaging thirds (Act 2+3). Great Full On track! B+ 4. Cat on Mushroom 2004 is a far cry from the Infected Mushroom collaboration to the same track name via 1999's Beam Me Up (debut) album. Why is this called Cat on Mushroom? That right there creates expectation and probable disappointment. The melodies are forgettable. The direction is ho-hum, lazy, and uninteresting. There is a nice buildup and take off in the 4th minute. It stands out because nothing eventful happened beforehand. The artist uses a bouncy melody in similar fashion to Goa Trance and it works great, complementing the danceable approach with something fun. It's just too bad that it took 60% of the song to do something fun. The music changes again in the last two minutes, but it's a less magnetic version of the previous segment. Oh well. C+ 5. Daybreaks starts out more generic. As with the previous tracks, the music comes alive in the second act forward. The same can be said here, but the simplistic [formulaic, clubby] approach may disappoint long-time fans of the artist who were expecting something a little more visionary and unpredictable. With exception to some decent synth/sound work, this (to me) is a generic and forgettable club trance song, influenced by Space Cat. Disappointing considering how talented this artist is. C 6. Raver is less generic than Daybreaks, thank God. At least the sound/melody work stands out a little more here. There is an X-Files esque sequence of notes that add character, and both the energy and sound work improves as the song progresses. the last act sounds good, despite the artist basically combining sounds and melodies released on and off throughout the song. This is another fairy good track. B- 7. Tranceformer is more energetic and driving. Again, good usage of sound/melody work despite the simple harmonies. There are at least two transitions (where the beat disappears) the song. The returning music after the first does very little to enhance things. The second adds an energy boost before reprising previous layers. I suppose this is the more predictable Full On approach that people generally criticize who are used to more elaborate, visionary Psy/Goa tracks. The song is pretty solid but a bit formulaic too, and more unpredictable fun would have been more memorable. B- 8. Mechanical Dream is fairly generic, though I can't deny the nice (warm) sound/melody work in the second and third act. More risks would have been nice since this artist certainly has the mindset and imagination to pull some creative strings. That said, the buildup/push in energy boost towards the end works well, again and despite the formulaic approach. B 9. Rising Force gets a bit repetitive as it progresses, but the warm sound/melody coupled with various developments (and a catchy melody towards the end) saves it from falling into average. B- Machine Dream is a bit tame compared to previous Space Cat albums. Some of the sound/melody work is nice, but due to the more formulaic (generic) Full On approach, I've revisited this album only a few times since it released in 2004. Previous albums took more risks, involved more complexity (more or less), and seemed more visionary and/or articulative, ambitious, and unconventional. Moreover, the album lacks super songs for a Full On album. There isn't a song here that makes me go WOW. No melody here lifts me as high as several songs did on the first three SC albums. That said, no song is as bad to the club boredom (boring) degree of Latdino. There are some nice old school influences and the cover stands out the most since Beam Me Up. The general song is solid (and quite danceable!) for Full On which makes Mechanical Dream a solid release IMO. For many, compared to previous albums, it's just a bit too formulaic for my taste. That said, for fans of Full On or a more mainstream approach to Space Cat, you may be in for a pleasant surprise. Favorite tracks - 2, 3, 6, 8 B- - 1999 - Beam Me Up - A- - 2000 - Shapes of Sound - B - 2002 - Power Up - B+ - 2004 - Mechanical Dream - B- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozen dream Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 a bit too formulaic but it's ok 7/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sawfly Posted September 2, 2022 Share Posted September 2, 2022 A very nice melodic album 8/10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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