'Overwold Dreams' is an American progressive rock band who started their career in 2018 and who are influenced by the 70s. Their discography is already full because, if they have focused on covers in recent years with 'Under The Covers I' in 2020, 'Under The Covers II' in 2021 and 'Under The Covers III' in 2023, the latter notably including the cover of 'Hocus Pocus' from 'Focus' dating from 1971, they have also released their own material with two albums 'Voyage' in 2018 and 'Gateway' in 2019. This start of the year 2024 sees the release of a new opus, 'Geography', which only has two titles, but what titles, since they together total almost 50 minutes.
Amateurs of long progressive developments taking us back a few decades, you are therefore in the right place and the eponymous title of the album welcomes us with its 8 parts which, at the same time, show a complexity in the construction with a succession of different atmospheres and styles, but also a fairly immediate approach thanks to accessible melodies. Vocally, they offer us two registers, one feminine and one masculine, which certainly bring a plus in this type of piece and it is 'Elizabeth Holder' and 'Matt Maugeri' who alternately share the microphone. We can also note very beautiful vocal harmonies in the choirs. Instrumentally, the keyboards and guitars share beautiful sections which bring these early progressive influences. Of course, throughout this first musical fresco, you should draw parallels with different groups from the 70s but the whole is very coherent, and we let ourselves go while traveling through this imaginative sound labyrinth filled with creativity. The second composition 'Force of Nature' is like the first and presents three longer parts in which 'Elizabeth Holder' and 'Matt Maugeri' show us on multiple occasions all their vocal talent and the keyboards play a leading role in the instrumental arrangements, the last third taking us, first of all, into more atmospheric landscapes followed by a more epic and symphonic finale of great beauty with a slight crescendo beginning very beautifully in a piano/voice duet.
In summary, even if this new album from the Americans of 'Overworld Dreams' risks being limited to a certain progressive audience due to the length of the two titles, it offers us rich and varied progressive influenced by the groups major artists of this style from the 70s, a sort of melting pot of 'Genesis', 'Renaissance', 'Focus' and 'Alan Parsons Project' combined and I'm certainly going on (it's up to you to find others! )... | |
