Susan Frances
08/15/08, 05:34 PM
Dream Aria - Transcend
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: August 1, 2008
The Canadian quartet Dream Aria has a name that alone completely expresses what their music is like, as the band gives birth to melodies with gorgeous symphonic dreamscapes able to lift the listener to an ethereal plane on their latest release, Transcend. There is a definite rock edge and progressive thinking in the band’s second album, Transcend, following their debut offering, In The Wake. The queenly voicing in lead singer Ann Burstyn’s register is relatable to Evanescence’s Amy Lee, and the aerial keyboards and dazzling displays performed by Don Stagg is reminiscent of Russian Circles. The rhythm section of drummer Garry Flint and bassist Jon Casselman cue up the pins with the precision of prog rock masters Dream Theater. Produced by Flint, Transcend has an electro-pop/ambient shimmer and symphonic rock pitch that moves to the rhythm of the world music market.
The sprinting keys of “Labyrinth” complement the astro-glides of the guitar cuts played by Kurt Schefter, culminating to spectacular peaks. The church organ resonance of the keyboards in “The Rhythm of Now” tangles around the melodic columns of Tim Welch’s sinewy guitar lines. All of the guitar parts of the album are played by special guests who include Schefter, Welch, Steve Agelakos, and Jozef Pilasanovic. Other special guests on the album include bassist Lonnie Glass and conga player Alberto Suarez who, together with Pilasanovic, make the melodically enriched “Compassion” a track with mega-force gusts and scintillating tones that penetrate into the listener’s skin. Burstyn’s lyrics for “Compassion” enhance the penetration with words that soak into the music. “On a new day, with no more pain or hate / All connected, souls intertwined, we are one beneath the sun, moon and stars.”
Burstyn’s words show genuineness in beauty, and also how beauty can be deceiving like in “Tigress” when the resonance in her voice reaches a siren’s bellow, “Angelic face that haunts your sleep / Her soul in all your dreams / A price that you’ll pay on and on / Takes you to Heaven in euphoria / Her scent and voice will make you weak / Forever at your feet.” The theatrical inflections in Burstyn’s voice give the songs a greater dimension, and the subtle touches like a toy chest music box peeking through the melodic lines of “Pandora’s Box” and exotic Middle Eastern accents sprinkled across “Serpent Nile” strengthen the songs character.
Transcend is an album that leaves an indelible mark on its listener. There is so much in the album that makes it feel like the soundtrack to your life, whether the songs are somehow able to describe the turning points in your life or connect with emotions that you have experienced, the songs offer encouragement to keep a positive outlook about the future. It is an album that takes many artists a life-time to make, but it is really nice that Dream Aria can make this kind of album now.
Dream Theater, Evanescence, Russian Circles
www.myspace.com/dreamariacanada (http://www.myspace.com/dreamariacanada)
Record Label: Unsigned
Release Date: August 1, 2008
The Canadian quartet Dream Aria has a name that alone completely expresses what their music is like, as the band gives birth to melodies with gorgeous symphonic dreamscapes able to lift the listener to an ethereal plane on their latest release, Transcend. There is a definite rock edge and progressive thinking in the band’s second album, Transcend, following their debut offering, In The Wake. The queenly voicing in lead singer Ann Burstyn’s register is relatable to Evanescence’s Amy Lee, and the aerial keyboards and dazzling displays performed by Don Stagg is reminiscent of Russian Circles. The rhythm section of drummer Garry Flint and bassist Jon Casselman cue up the pins with the precision of prog rock masters Dream Theater. Produced by Flint, Transcend has an electro-pop/ambient shimmer and symphonic rock pitch that moves to the rhythm of the world music market.
The sprinting keys of “Labyrinth” complement the astro-glides of the guitar cuts played by Kurt Schefter, culminating to spectacular peaks. The church organ resonance of the keyboards in “The Rhythm of Now” tangles around the melodic columns of Tim Welch’s sinewy guitar lines. All of the guitar parts of the album are played by special guests who include Schefter, Welch, Steve Agelakos, and Jozef Pilasanovic. Other special guests on the album include bassist Lonnie Glass and conga player Alberto Suarez who, together with Pilasanovic, make the melodically enriched “Compassion” a track with mega-force gusts and scintillating tones that penetrate into the listener’s skin. Burstyn’s lyrics for “Compassion” enhance the penetration with words that soak into the music. “On a new day, with no more pain or hate / All connected, souls intertwined, we are one beneath the sun, moon and stars.”
Burstyn’s words show genuineness in beauty, and also how beauty can be deceiving like in “Tigress” when the resonance in her voice reaches a siren’s bellow, “Angelic face that haunts your sleep / Her soul in all your dreams / A price that you’ll pay on and on / Takes you to Heaven in euphoria / Her scent and voice will make you weak / Forever at your feet.” The theatrical inflections in Burstyn’s voice give the songs a greater dimension, and the subtle touches like a toy chest music box peeking through the melodic lines of “Pandora’s Box” and exotic Middle Eastern accents sprinkled across “Serpent Nile” strengthen the songs character.
Transcend is an album that leaves an indelible mark on its listener. There is so much in the album that makes it feel like the soundtrack to your life, whether the songs are somehow able to describe the turning points in your life or connect with emotions that you have experienced, the songs offer encouragement to keep a positive outlook about the future. It is an album that takes many artists a life-time to make, but it is really nice that Dream Aria can make this kind of album now.
Dream Theater, Evanescence, Russian Circles
www.myspace.com/dreamariacanada (http://www.myspace.com/dreamariacanada)