After two albums of neo-traditional Irish music, Mike Scott brings The Waterboys back to the big rock sound of earlier albums like This is the Sea. Coming after the remarkably accomplished Fishermen's Blues and Room to Roam, Dream Harder is a bit of a disappointment. Its best material doesn't carry the same weight as compositions from Blues -- compare the simple beauty of Fishermen's Blues' "Has Anyone Hear Seen Hank" to Dream Harder's overblown "The Return of Jimi Hendrix." Scott can still bang out some good songs, but on Dream Harder there aren't as many as on previous efforts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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