WAKING DREAMS – Sliding Lines

My good friend Otto-Egil (Apollon Records) recently handed me a copy of this deeply evocative, emotionally charged, and beautifully written album by the duo known as Waking Dreams, which features the amazing and utterly haunting vocals of Angela Chambers, and I am forever grateful to him for doing so.  

Existing somewhere between somber and uplifting, these elegantly composed tracks could probably be classified as indie rock, yet they feel like so much more than that. There are traces of electronica, dark pop, Americana, and arguably even trip hop to be found throughout, and the great thing is that it all flows together so incredibly well. Cohesive is definitely one word that often comes to mind when digesting the album’s richly layered content but another one is original. Steeped in melancholy and sounding almost effortless, this moving piece of work, which is short and concise in that it clocks in at 34 minutes, is frequently exhilarating and constantly interesting, and it is definitely one of the most inspiring outputs that I have had the pleasure of reviewing these past few weeks. As exemplified by magnificent cuts such as ‘For You’, ‘Smile’, ‘Best Of’, ‘Absorb’, and ‘Beg’, this is soul-stirring and heartfelt music that serves as the perfect soundtrack to one’s introspective and solitary moments. Simply put, Sliding Lines is quite breathtaking and totally essential.