Dream Brother

03/08/2015

 

Today on the menu: The guys of Dream Brother!

After the choice of the band's name and the recording of several demos in 2009 and the search for band members in late 2011, Dream Brother began the pre-production of their first album. However back then they did not foresee that it would take them three years and a few changes in the lineup for their album to be released. "Dream Brother" get released on February 2015 in Finland and on April 10th in the rest of Europe through Inverse Records.

Line-up:

Samuel Sjöman - Vocals

Mikko Virta - Guitars

Jarkko "Jarkkis" Toivanen - Bass

Teijo Jämsä - Drums

The guitars of "Lost Yourself" open the album. It is a good choice to have chosen this song as the opening because it is catchy, rich in terms of music and riffs without being too heavy. It is accessible by all. Music lovers in general will certainly like this song.

"Black Leaves" follows the rhythm and spirit imposed by "Lost Yourself" except that this time we have a greater variety of vocals, which is quite interesting and goes nicely with the music. The song talks about not giving up and not surrending against the "evil" of our world. Pretty recurrent theme in music, well exploited here.

The guitar melody in "Halfway" is good and so is the rhythmic acoustic guitar. However it would've been awesome to find in this love song a little more backing vocals to complete the main vocals and give them more impact and power, especially in the chorus. I don't think the vocalizations at the end were necessary though.

"Fairies and Failures", what an unusual title. This song has awesome rhythm and riffs, with lots of variations that make it really nice to listen to. This dark atmosphere set at the intro and the verses is also great. The way the guitar responds to the vocals in the last chorus adds a little extra to the song.

"The Way Out" and its fancy and catchy riffs is for sure one of the best songs on this album. This variety of vocals is to be found again, going along with an always changing and rich instrumental. Thumbs up for the ending guitar solo.

Another unusual title that is "Lovehatelove". This song is also unusual, it is totally different from the others: the music is soft and calm with minimal drums and a tambourine, an acoustic guitar and few notes from the lead guitar. The vocals are whispers and gain in intensity as the song plays. Then loud and powerful music plays along with a clear singing, breaking the calm and ending this song. Unusual but really nice and interesting.

The song "We Could Have Everything" has a melancholic and sad feeling, along with long and complex guitar (lead and acoustic) melodies. The vocals conveys that sad feeling perfectly. The lyrics are full of hope, stating that everyone has a reason to live and go on, and a chance to get everything.

"The One" sounds like "Lost Yourself": same rhythm, similar kind of riffs. It is a catchy song, and the high pitched guitars of the interlude are really cool. The chorus is simple yet effective because the lyrics just stay in your head.

A calm and soothing guitar solo is the intro of "Sleep Alone". In this ballad that mix of acoustic and lead guitar can be found again with great solos to accompany the soft then powerful vocals. I like the mix of two voices on the chorus. Another guitar solo ends another one of the best songs of this album.

Drums set the pulse of "Heart", the last song of this album. This drum intro is good but once the guitars are added to the mix, things become a bit messy. The verses and chorus are alright with the vocals put forward, going with simple and nice riffs. This album ends with a good but not so memorable song.

This first album is promising. We already have little gems and interesting compositions and also a bit of clumsiness in some songs. This album is overall good and can be listened easily by all. I have no doubt that Dream Brother will get better with time as I think they've proven their potential with this first album.