Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
We chase our dreams with almost furious intent, sometimes to the detriment of the way we might find ourselves holding the future in hands made of clay, or being strangers, untrue to ourselves, our true selves and by the time we realise it, it is almost always, certainly over; the dream having become a millstone round our necks, for the tomorrow we sought became cluttered, full of the colour that meant nothing on the canvas we had.
To fill the canvas with the dreams of tomorrow leaves very little room for embracing what you have today, it can make all that you have achieved so far, fade beyond its time. It takes a special set of circumstances, a keen pair of eyes and gritty observation to keep the past, the present, and the possible future in perspective, to give them the accolades and brooding determination of truth their physical form on the canvas of life.
It is a mantra of never forget where you have come from as you pursue the Dreamland Tomorrow that many forget, believing that all their troubles are soon dismissed once they fill that canvas, never realising it is the hardships, the struggles, the personal battles that make the dreams all the more beautiful. It is a set of songs to which Dan Whitehouse elegantly captures in his new album which makes such a demand all the more worthwhile.
The open agreement with time comes certainly with the pleasure of the experiment, the willingness to put detail into the canvas rather just fill it with stuff, necessity of spirit and soul over the material substance. It is an outlook which gives the album its dramatic edge, its fearsome creativity, and across songs such as The State Of The English, Crazy On The Weekend, Rough Sleeper, Fighting For Air, Teach You How To Fly, the breath taking I Became The City, The Wall In Her Head and What I Didn’t See, Dan Whitehouse has painted a picture which truly evokes the passion in his soul.
This is no abstract piece of art, no meandering musical painting which leaves the listener blinded by a series of bright colours designed to baffle and confuse, instead it is a mural to sincerity, a fresco of illumination which pays homage to the truth of invention, experimentation and to the days which led us all to the Dreamland Tomorrow. Urgent, pulsing with creativity and striking out into the unknown without letting go of the ties that bind, Dan Whitehouse’s latest release urges your own spirit to do the same.
Dan Whitehouse releases Dreamland Tomorrow on May 1st via Reveal Records.
Ian D. Hall