Dichotomies & Dreamland

Soundpool, Soundpool | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: ALOFT
• ASIN: B0015MS40U
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,809 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

With Soundpool's second full length release "Dichotomies & Dreamland" on Quince Record in Japan... the first thing you may notice are the last two tracks on the album... the two bonus remixes from Manual & Ursula 1000. While finding remixes of Soundpool may be a difficult task... you'll find two of the best SP remixed tracks available only on the Japanese import through Quince. This is not the only thing which differentiates this release from it's American counter part. The entire album was brilliantly re-arranged by Quince so you get an entirely different perspective of the album's original concept. In addition... many of the songs which were cross faded on the domestic release can be heard in their entirety on this release... making some key tracks more radio friendly and appropriate for pod casting. And finally... the high quality packaging which Quince in known for featuring all new artwork complete w/obi, and liner notes in both Japanese & English. If you are interested enough to be reading this, then it's a pretty safe bet that this album is a must have! --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thinking outside the Shoegazer box, April 24, 2009

By 

Brad Doner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dichotomies & Dreamland (Audio CD)

Having seen most of the shoegazer bands back in the day, and still being a fan of that sound - Soundpool was a nice discovery in 2006. I disagree with the previous reviewers dismissive assessment that the last 14 minutes are a disappointment.

The last song (one of the strongest on D&D) "Butterflies" elevates from an ambient intro. joined by a house backbeat creating a layered groove paying off beautifully by the end. There greater sonic diversity than on their debut "On High", which show signs of growth beyond the shoegazer trappings. Blonde Redhead began as Sonic Youth Jr. and they have grown into their own sound, and Soundpool has the potential to do the same. Overall a standout record that wears there influences proudly on their sleeve with an eye towards carving their own niche for the future.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Progress maybe, but some misses, August 12, 2008

By 

Nobody - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dichotomies & Dreamland (Audio CD)

The first CD was great, an homage to all things shoegazer and dreampop. Yeah, it could have been recorded in 1990, but it was so solid as a set that it totally won me over. Now, I recognize that no band can be successful by simply repeating the same set over and over, particularly when the music was a direct copy of a dated style. You have to go somewhere, and in fact I'm looking for someone to push the shoe form to a different place - where I have no clue, but that's the genius element, creating new music.

So I can't fault this NYC boy-girl band for trying to stretch the genre, they should be encouraged. But there are problems, both in similarities to "On High" and changes. Let's start with the bass and drum track, which is a throwback technique, a repetitive pulsing drive which worked great on the last CD, but gets a little tired here, particularly on "Pleasure", which indeed sounds a lot like "Sons and Fascination" era Simple Minds, sans the Kerr quality vocals of course. In the other direction, the shrieking synths added to songs like "Dreamland" kind of hurt the ears, just tacking those on to a standard shoe mix is not the way to go. Finally, there's no reason to continue using short transition pieces, they just get messed up when ripped to MP3's, usually out of sequence. A pity, because the two "Dreamland" bits could have made one good song.

There is some really good stuff here. "Do What You Love" is a killer track, using all the best elements of this band, and a song where the synths really work. It does sound very Lush like (not a word Kim sings can be understood), and is not really a stretch from the last CD, but so what, crank it up and smile, great song. I really like the guitars, kind of half Emma Anderson and half Dandy Warhols. "Lush" works well, although I guess I was expecting something more like "Superblast" than "Etheriel", and "So Much" has a similar feel.

But overall there are long sequences that miss the mark, particularly the last 14 minutes of the CD, extensive passages which do not maintain the beat and go nowhere. I think maybe they were trying to fuse trip hop into the mix, which might work, but not here. A disappointment.