All Is Dream (Deluxe Edition)

Moody, majestic, and unpredictable, All Is Dream plays like Deserters Songs evil twin, polarizing that albums gently trippy, symphonic pop into paranoid and exuberant extremes that range from the eerie lullaby Lincolns Eyes to the giddy show-tune-in-search-of-a-musical A Drop in Time. Starting with the symphonic grandeur of The Dark Is Rising, the albums ambitious, self-indulgent vibe recalls 60s and 70s psych and prog rock concept albums as well as the bands own expansive body of work. The first half of All Is Dream journeys through the groups dark side with songs like the brooding Tides of the Moon, which pits Jonathan Donahues spooked, singsong vocals against appropriately unearthly theremins, glockenspiels, and organs, while the second halfs Nite and Fog and Little Rhymes sound twice as sunny compared to the preceding weirdness. The contrast between the albums halves is so sharp that it seems designed for vinyl; flipping this record over would be immensely satisfying. Though nothing on All Is Dream is as immediate as Deserters Songs Goddess on a Hiway or Delta Sun Bottleneck Stomp, this album may be stronger as a whole, moving gracefully from singer/songwriter ballads like the beautiful Spiders and Flies to guitar-driven epics like Youre My Queen and Hercules. An unfashionably self-indulgent and earnest album, All Is Dream certainly isnt for everyone, and may not even be for some Mercury Rev fans, but in its own personal, insular way, its another triumph for the band. ~ Heather Phares