Ian Hilvert and Ivory Snow are a married couple and also a band, their beautiful and dreamy music was already posted about here two years ago when the Ohio-based artists released their debut album. It has to be said that while the debut was brilliant, the follow-up in the form of this year's album called This Dream is nothing short of equally good.
The release title says everything about the music here. The album is opened with a subtle but touching intro that makes the second part of Look Away and its guitar sounds even more emphatic. But in general, the album is more about airy melodies than loud bursts, more about the ethereal laziness than anything rapid and uncomfortable. Even if the lyrics do point to some intriguingly uneasy topics, the music, its catchiness and dreamy atmosphere soothes them down. That said, my favourite Body in the Mirror is quite unnerving in the way it reminds us of the tiring burdens of existence while presenting also a frustratingly catchy tune. I think the album's last but one track's title, Strength in Softness, may be very much a meta-commentary to the artists' whole approach to music.
As before, the concept of their music revolves around Hilvert and Snow's vocals being in a form of a musical dialogue. Snow sounds sometimes like a true dreamy vocalist should, sometimes goes more into the lazy-like manner of Holy Motors' Eliann Tulve and this is a considerable compliment from my side. Oh, and don't forget - sungazing is something you can do only metaphorically unless you have special equipment to do so.
This Dream costs 7 USD.
Check: Body in the Mirror
Country: Ohio, US
Genre: dreamgaze
