Music ReviewsRock

CD Review: Dreamland by Beat Circus

[review]

American band Beat Circus’ 2008 album DREAMLAND is an accomplished blending of klezmer, free-jazz and popular music. Several tracks on the album deserve to be mentioned: the opener track, Gyp The Blood, is a mix of “crockery” music and orchestra, plunged into Balkan and gotic atmospheres; the rhythm of The Ghost Of Emma Jean is marked by violins and guitar and a decadent and amused cabaret chorus; Hypnogogia recreates a horror mood thanks to distorted chorus and violins, while the evocative Delirium Tremens is an extravaganza made of drums, violins, synthesized voice and a chorus of deportees singing the album’s title in a saloon haunted by ghosts. The old Europe explodes in the feast of Slavochka, perhaps the masterpiece of the album, rocked by orchestra and revolutionary chorus, gipsy air and a rhythm in rapid change. Rhythm is crucial to The Gem Saloon as well, where the ghost saloon turns into a magic place for the histrionic singer and his sirens while a drunk guitar completes the picture. Coney Island Creepshow and Hell Gate seem to come from a Tim Burton’s movie or Tod Browning’s FREAKS,while Meet Me Tonight In Dreamland e March Of The Freaks close a brilliant work that started into a spooky saloon, continued into a freak circus and ended outside into a madcap fair.

Order on iTunes:

Alessandro Capuano
My name is Alessandro Capuano and I live in London. My education includes a Master of Arts in Cultures and Literatures in English and Postcolonial Studies and a qualification in Film Directing, with the production of screenplays and short-films. I also love writing. In 1999 I published a horror novel, “De Profundis”, and since 2004 I have my own website, “alexvertigoworld.tripod.com”, wich includes my music and film reviews. My passion number one is Music, especially ‘70s Rock. My favourite groups are The Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Can, and Neu!, and my favourite pop-rock icon is David Bowie. In 2005 American and English Postpunk became my major area of interest, so I love Public Image Ltd, Pere Ubu, The Residents and many others.
COMMENT HERE, IT'S FREE ;)