Ray - Great Strange Dream

  by Helen Tipping

published: 23 / 3 / 2007

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Review

'Great Strange Dream' is majestic swirling indie pop. It is a change from the current trend for the lo-fi sound, which I also quite like, but this reminds me of bands like the Waterboys or the Chameleons - the bands that I listened to in the late 80's and early 90's. Lyrically it is beautiful, but sad, but still holds hope for the long lost dream of the title. 'Wretchedest Man' is the first of the backing tracks. The lyrics are slightly Dylan-like evoking the sadness bitterness of a lonely man cursing the cause of his pain, but the sound is as rich as before with indie guitars and Nev Bradford's deep melodic vocals. The second backing track is 'The Red Veins in His Eyes Don't Lie'. This is another of those film title track sounding songs, like Ray's previous single 'Here is the Night'. Someone has to ask them to do one some time soon. They would be so good at it, encapsulating their stories in great lyrics, whilst their music has the epic quality needed for sound tracks, and would be a lot more memorable than many that I have heard.

Track Listing:-

1 Great Strange Dream
2 Wretchedest Man
3 The Red Veins In His Eyes Don't Lie