Dream a Garden

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Dream a Garden
Dream a Garden.jpg
Studio album by
Jam City
Released24 March 2015
Recorded2014-2015
Genre
Length36:33
LabelNight Slugs
ProducerJack Latham
Jam City chronology
Classical Curves
(2012) 		Dream a Garden
(2015) 		Pillowland
(2020)
Singles from Dream a Garden
  1. "Unhappy"
    Released: October 2014
  2. "Proud"
    Released: February 2015
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic4/5 stars[2]
Clash7/10[3]
Dummy Mag8/10[4]
The Guardian5/5 stars[5]
The Observer4/5 stars[6]
Pitchfork Media6.5/10[7]
The Quietusmixed[8]
Resident Advisor3.2/5[9]
Tiny Mix Tapes3.5/5 stars[10]
Uncut8/10[11]

Dream a Garden is the second album by UK producer Jam City. It was released on 24 March 2015 on Night Slugs, to positive reviews.

Background[]

Inspired by the 2011 England riots and the work of bell hooks, Dream a Garden further develops the socio-political conscience of its predecessor, engaging particularly with the effects of neoliberalism.[12][13][14][15] Latham has stated that the album "is about the personal effects of living under capitalism. Why do I feel shit and why do the people I love feel shit when they look at billboards? It was a process of trying to work through those feelings, that culture – what society values that makes you feel like you don’t measure up.”[15] The first single from the album, "Unhappy", critiques corruptive elements of online porn.[16]

The album largely abandons the stark, club-based sound of Latham's debut in favor of a warmer sonic palette characterized by "fuzzed-out beats and washes of reverb-drenched and processed guitar."[15] Latham has described the sound as "not a total break from the world of Classical Curves, but rather an inversion," explaining that "Classical Curves is the surface, Dream a Garden is the exhaustion, frustration, anger, and dizziness underneath.[17] Describing the development of Latham's sound for Clash Music, Will Salmon wrote that "this is still angular, defiantly awkward music, but the diamond-hard production has been replaced with something woozier and stranger. The synths have warped and melted, the beats – when they're there at all – are muffled and subdued."[3] Regarding his decision to sing, Latham stated, “I pushed up against the point where I had to sing. You have to say it and be obvious about it sometimes."[15]

Critical reception[]

Dream a Garden received generally positive reviews from critics. The Guardian described the album as "strange and disorientating, idiosyncratic and frequently astonishing, a modern-day psychedelia that owes almost nothing to that genre’s hackneyed conventions and never forgets to temper the sublimity with darkness".[5] Writing for Clash Music, Will Salmon described the album as "optimistic, romantic and frequently lovely record – a startling and deliberate contrast to its predecessor," and wrote that "the garden in this dream is a place of respite from the frightening truths of our increasingly dystopian, poverty-stricken reality."[3] Despite a relatively positive review, The Wire opined that "Dream a Garden only starts to sound radical when it breaks the bounds of its songforms and an eerie melancholy steals in."[1] The Observer described the album as "a slow, fragmentary work taking cues from drone and post-punk, with Latham’s vocals half-buried in layers of sound," writing that it "aims to create friction, to disrupt the party, even if it doesn’t force its message down your throat."[18]

Track listing[]

All songs written by Jam City.

No.TitleLength
1."The Garden Thrives"2:34
2."A Walk Down Chapel"5:33
3."Unhappy"3:37
4."Good Lads, Bad Lads"2:32
5."Today"4:07
6."Damage"4:00
7."Crisis"4:15
8."Black Friday"4:55
9."Proud"5:00

Personnel[]

Adapted from Discogs.[19]

  • Jam City – performance, production, mixing
  • Alex Sushon – mixing
  • Liam Howe – engineer

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Metacritic
  2. ^ Allmusic review
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c Salmon, Will (27 March 2015). "Jam City - Dream A Garden". Clash Magazine.
  4. ^ Dummy Mag
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Petridis, Alexis. "Jam City: Dream a Garden review – modern psychedelia with a dark edge". Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  6. ^ Fox, Killian (22 March 2015). "Jam City: Dream a Garden review – a departure from Jack Latham's glossy debut". Guardian. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  7. ^ Pitchfork Media
  8. ^ The Quietus
  9. ^ Resident Advisor
  10. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes
  11. ^ Uncut
  12. ^ Wilson, Sophie (25 March 2015). "Weekly Listening: Earl Sweatshirt, Diana Tribute, Jam City and more". Wireless. Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  13. ^ Saxelby, Ruth. "Jam City Is Fighting The System With Love". The Fader. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  14. ^ Ravens, Chal. "Darkest dreaming: Jam City dismantles his world". Fact (UK magazine). The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  15. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Macpherson, Alex (19 March 2015). "Jam City's songs of resistance are a reaction to 'living under capitalism', says Jack Latham". The National. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  16. ^ Eede, Christian. "Positive Force: An Interview With Jam City". The Quietus. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  17. ^ Lindsay, Cam. "We Talked to Jam City About His New Protest Record, the Angry But Still Hopeful 'Dream a Garden'". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
  18. ^ The Observer
  19. ^ Discogs
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