CANT - Dreams Come True (Warp)
4/5
By: Liane Escorza
Chris Taylor is a member of and producer for the much-lauded Grizzly Bear, yet he’s made many records for others besides. CANT is his own personal journey, and Dreams Come True is the first release in collaboration with George Lewis Jr. of Twin Shadow.
Influences are present, but not at all overwhelmingly obvious - pleasantly alluded to, actually, with winks to Bowie and Arthur Russell emanating from this album like perfume from perspirating skin on a hot day.
The exotically defined overture ‘Too Late Too Far’ is the wakeup call: here is an album to pay close attention to. With its beats playful and determined, it brushes on experimentalism without its own cleverness becoming a burden on the listener. CANT’s tendencies towards exoticism are always dealt with delicately.
Within each of the songs, acoustic demure and software invasions fight in a tug o’war. Yet the jumps in and out of each are so subtle, so elegant, that they come as no surprise. ‘The Edge’ is the most sensual number, mixing Grizzly Bear’s sparse and minimalist contemporary soul with James Blake’s penchant for sparsely dramatic electronic backing.
‘Answer’ has a backdrop beat and a haunting melody that leaves one gasping - it’s definitely the glitteriest piece on the album, a track that can be played both in the chilled atmosphere of one’s bedroom or on the dance floor in the early hours of the AM. Similarly infectious, the guitar intro to ‘Bang’ stays for days in my head. It’s seeped through unwillingly. I wake up with the tune every morning and wonder where on earth it’s coming from, until I play the record again (as I’m bound to do), and hey, there it is.
This sneaky easiness and stunning confidence, no doubt coming from Chris Taylor’s seemingly very successful continued examination of adulthood across his various musical adventures, makes one melt and surrender mercilessly. Dreams Come True is such a grower that after a few repeats it becomes hard to let it go.
CANT - Dreams Come True by daftdreamy
Artists in this article: CANT
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