Abakus - We Share The Same Dreams

[abasio]

Abakus

We Share The Same Dreams

Modus Records

7 Nov 2008

Housey Summer Downbeat

 

Tracklist

 

1 We Share The Same Dreams (0:57)

2 Sliding Sh (8:42)

3 Daybreak (6:11)

4 Angel Dust (3:56)

5 Understated (5:38)

6 Culture Is Not Your Friend (4:13)

7 Excession (5:12)

8 Deun Deu (4:49)

9 The Only Life We've Known (6:00)

10 Lost In The Woods (4:12)

11 Crystal Vision (4:33)

12 Opal Fountain (4:44)

13 How Does It Feel To Be Real? (3:52)

 

Abakus' debut album That Much Closer To The Sun was in my opinion the greatest summer album ever made. It was summer in a can, that you could just put into your CD player and it would warm you up no matter how cold. The follow up to such a great album was always going to be difficult and I almost didn't get it when I heard people talking about it as too clubby and not chilled anough. I wanted to see for myself though & I am glad I did, it is very nice follow up album, it's very summery and for the most part pretty chilled.

 

1 We Share The Same Dreams (0:57)

A nice soft ambient intro draws us into the album, it's soft and warm just as it should be.

 

2 Sliding Sh (8:42)

Comparing this to the first album I'd say the beats are a little more steady 4-4 but other than that there is not much to pick out. It has a nice warm sound, summery melodies, nice little plops like drops in the ocean and soft atmospheric drones like a light sea breeze in the background.

 

3 Daybreak (6:11)

Once again this is very summery. This feels like a day at the beach, the bass and the melody jump along with a lot of energy like a one year old dog at the beach chasing after a ball. The sounds halfway through though lift me up above the beach, over the ocean and high up in the clouds where I can feel safe in the bright blue summer sky. Great stuff, feels halfway between floating and flying.

 

4 Angel Dust (3:56)

A nice tight little bassline in this like a day at the beach with bikini clad beauties all around. Put you towel on the sand, lay down and observe all the summer activities. People surfing, beach volleyball or just soaking up the sun. The meldoy is pretty high pitched but soft enough to be very enjoyable, the background noises remind me of people playing, chatting and having fun in the sun.

 

5 Understated (5:38)

This is very much a beach track, but instead of lying down and observing this feels more like being actively involved. This could be used on a TV advert for rollerblades or to introduce beach volleyball at the olympics. This could be the opening credits of a movie where everyone basically sits around the beach all day doing nothing important. The bassline carries the track like a melody and has little melodic sounds accompany it. This changes halfway though as the melody that was being played by the bass kicks in as a chiming melody like distant ringing.

 

6 Culture Is Not Your Friend (4:13)

This for me is summer in California. This sounds very much like the first album. The intense summer feel, the McKenna sounding sample "Culture Is Not Your Friend!" The melodies are perfect for summer and I feel as I write this on a cold winter's night that I am being wrapped up in a blanket of summer warmth. It's laid back, sunny and cool. Everything I'd associate with California.

 

7 Excession (5:12)

Picking up the energy a little bit here with some faster beats and weird techy noises at the start but this odd glitch is soon replaced by a very warm summery sound. This reminds me of Balearic morning trance mixed with chillout. Think Cafe Del Mar but a little more energetic and not as cheesy. There are more intricate sounds, it's more psychedelic so to say. I can just picture myself after a night partying sat on a cliff top watching the early morning sun bring his light to us while listening to this track.

 

8 Deun Deu (4:49)

Another track that seems to be bridging that gap between the chillout and more clubby tracks. This again is not club oriented yet but it has a more steady beat and could be classed as danceable chillout. The melody reminds me of my hometown, for some reason I get the memory of standing outside the bank, then meeting friends on the grassy slopes and drinking while carnival floats come by. Everyone is happy as they eat and drink out in the sunshine. Good times, good melodies, good track.

 

9 The Only Life We've Known (6:00)

Abakus has upped the pace now with a track that is more in fitting with a house dancefloor not just in it's pace but also in it's lack of anything interesting. Sure it has sounds, melodies and beats but they just feel like sounds, not music. I have always thought of modern house music as psychedelic music with all the psychedelic elements taken out and that's what I feel here.bThe attempts at something interesting just end up sounding like some dorky 80's virgin synth pop fanboy with a vocoder. Dull.

 

10 Lost In The Woods (4:12)

Another club oriented track, a little more interesting than the last, but not much. It's a little colder and seems out of place on the album. There is childish space fantasy like everything is sleek and cool but overly cute. I see some correlation here, as Abakus' music gets more upbeat, I like it less.

 

11 Crystal Vision (4:33)

The correlation is proved here as the tempo is dropped and I like the tracka whole lot more. Squelchy sythns splat hard against the windshield of my ears, melodies fall down like a summer rain and the rushes of the drones in the background raise me up like I'm floating up through static rain but it still feels like the glimmering light is falling all around me. A great track back to form after the disappointment of the previous two.

 

12 Opal Fountain (4:44)

This is my favourite track on the album, it is a perfect example of summer in music form. The melodies are so warm it's like being in a meadow on a summer's day with the grass between your toes. The beats are a nice chilled out break beat and there are the sounds of birds and someone calling from far off in the distance. Great stuff, it gets a little darker at times with a dark oppressive bass sound creeping in but non more so than at the end when all other sounds leave apart from the drone and the birds.

 

13 How Does It Feel To Be Real? (3:52)

A perfect end to the album, much more chilled again and just not as summery as the rest. It's like the sun that set on our summer in the end of Opal Fountain has left us in twilight, it's still warm and bright enough to see far into the distance but somehow it's just not right.

 

 

I am very happy to have gotten this album. It is a great summer CD and I know that come May I will be playing this a lot. Even now in January when I listen to it it feels like it is summer already. Don't be put off by people talking about this album as if it is some clubby nightmare from Ibiza. Only 2 tracks even come to close to that description and they are not that bad, just a bit dull or out of place. The rest are beautifully chilled out summery tracks that I'm sure most people who enjoyed the first album would enjoy. Expect it to be a little more upbeat, not quite as amazing but still like summer in a bowl

[NEMO.BOFH]

I like this album, but on the contrary to what Abasio mentioned about The Only life we've Known, I think that this is the best track of the whole album. It reminds me of old EBM but with Trance Elements. Sure, to the psy fan this is just shit maybe... but to me it sound like something that Front 242 would have done, IF they made trance!

 

All over the album gets an 7/10 from me.

[healium]

I have to agree with NEMO on this one - the track "We Share the Same Dreams" is pretty damn cool (can't say its my fav on the album but I do really like it)- I love that 80's synth pop vibe actually, and the track in general is emotionally rich and nostalgic for me..

 

The album on the whole - too soon for me to make a verdict, but it's pleasant sounding music, with some very nice moments... The first couple casual listens haven't shown me much depth that might change..