Formed by Daedelus,
whose first album, Invention,
released on Plug Research over a year and a half ago,
caused more than a stir on both sides of the Atlantic,
and has helped the man become one of the hottest names
in Los Angeles, and Frosty, founder of internet radio
Dublab and responsible for the Freeways (Emperor
Norton) and Summer (Hefty Records) compilations,
this album is a musical playground in which Adventure
Time voluntarily pile up all their ideas for the simple
pleasure to see if they work. And work Dreams Of
Water Themes does very well.
In just over half an hour, Adventure Time throw an impressive
amount of beats, textures, samples and atmospheres at
their audience with a total disregard for rules. Using
chilled hip-hop-infused constructions, the pair proceed
to tell fluid little musical stories (hence the water
theme running through this album one presumes), built
around a variety of samples, from Billie Holiday and
Lee Perry to wacky film dialogues. Sometimes getting
a few friends on boards (Pigeon John, of hip-hop collective
LA Symphony on Whetting Whistles and internationally
renowned poet Saul Williams and Sacajawea on Sent
From Sandy Shores) to add some lyrical layers to
their largely instrumental mayhem, Daedelus
and Frosty rely mostly on their own creative inputs
to produce this album. From the opening moment of The
Age Of Aquariums, Adventure Time takes the listener
on a whirlwind journey through sounds, with tracks clocking
at anything from thirteen seconds to four minutes ten.
With the majority of the compositions remaining firmly
under the three minutes mark, the pair hardly give their
audience the chance to breath, let alone admire their
sonic wallpapers. With Whetting Whistles, General
MIDI vs. Rusty 4eyes, Sent From Sandy Shores
and the eerie Girl Of The Well stealing the
show with complex collages of sounds and samples constantly
changing the mood of this album, while My Musical
Friend, Kids Say The Darnest Things and
Water Plop, hilarious little vignettes stuck
between the more developed moments, proving as clever
as the rest, Dreams Of Water Themes commands
respect from start to finish.
Rarely do records come so filled with fun and in-jokes
as this one. Continuing on Plug Research’s tradition
of releasing quality music, Dreams Of Water Themes
does not so much show off the talent of Adventure Time
at organising sounds into extremely coherent yet wacky
compositions as expose their oblique vision of the world
and can only make you ask for more. This is entertainment
with a capital E.
4.8/5 |
