GENGAHR – A Dream Outside Review
aaamusic | On 03, Jul 2015
Having built their repertoire over the last year and toured with some big hitters in the form of Alt-J and The Maccabees in the first half of 2015, the quartet Gengahr consisting of Felix Bush (Vocals, Guitar), Hugh Schulte (Bass), Danny Ward (Drums) and John Victor (Guitar) are finally due to make their full length debut release via the notorious experimental British label Transgressive.
A Dream Outside is an 11 track LP which delves in and out of shoe-gaze, grunge and the group’s distinctive alternative rock. Whilst it is an album which consists of songs that may be already familiar to the aural palette such as ‘She’s A Witch’ and ‘Powder’, it is a pleasure to hear all their efforts collated together and showcased as a completed article. Album opener ‘Dizzy Ghosts’ establishes the sublime milieu of the record, beginning with a faint whirring which transcends approximately after 30 seconds in to a luscious mass of noise instantly displaying Gengahr’s abilities to balance harsh and delicate elements; demonstrated by the clash between the scuzzy guitars and the front man’s woozy words.
Not only is this play with darkness and light echoed fluidly through their sound, lyrically it is the core of the album. Contrasting, juxtaposing and metaphorically addressing the subject of being infatuated on ‘Heroine’, “I changed for the better now there’s metal in my hand/ sure you can be my heroine/ closing in I know the path fated to the hourglass.” It is by far my favourite song on the LP, as the strings and percussion combine in perfect unison. Further macabre matter in addition is handled on ‘Bathed In Light’, “Crushed and burned like a body in an urn the light and the sun goes down/ Teeth in the sand, kettle bloody in my hand…” amongst a sea of psychedelic reverb. As well as the profound personal analysis of ‘Where I Lie’, “A monster I see go deep inside of me and now when I bleed it takes control of me.”
What makes this record refreshing is the band’s focus on the basis of musical craftsmanship, not only through lyricism but instrumentation. ‘Dark Star’ is a dedicated two minute interlude of guitar experimentation, varying levels and distortion while subtle vocalisations take the backseat. Then adopting jazz rhythms ‘Embers’ is intertwined with hints of surf rock, as distortion on ‘Powder’ spins and tumbles, eventually coming to an abrupt stop. Consolidating the album ‘Trampoline’ appropriately induces a dulcet mellow close, one for a breezy summer afternoon. Succinctly A Dream Outside may be easy to criticise on the basis that Gengahr’s tempos never strays too far from their distinctive resonance. However it is a dense being of work which solidifies the astute and assured nature of a young band that have shed loads more to offer.
