Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10

The power to lucid dream is one that can be magical experience, it can lead to places which you never expected your mind could fathom, it can show glimpses of a reality in which anything is possible, and be an indicator of the path that the universe is asking you to follow, to trust the hallucination and be more in tune with the ethereal rather than the trappings of matter-of-fact, hard nosed entrenched opinions brewed and passed down by dogma and one-world view.

The presence of Hypnagogia is a telling reason when it comes to the ability to create worlds, to see beyond reason and place before the crowd a moment of glory, and there is no denying the subtle beauty that comes across in the set of songs that make up David Barnicle’s new E.P. Dreaming Awake-Acoustic Sessions is one that encapsulates the philosophy of such tender words and music forged together in a dream like state that is exotic, fruitful, and the voice which carries a field of vision before it.

The four acoustic tracks that make up Dreaming Awake, The Conjurer, Fornever, I Am You, and Forgetting The Natural are to be felt as blessed, they have appeared almost out of the ether themselves and carry with them the hope that they will be part of something larger, even more giant in the extreme near future.

Lyrically fascinating, the melodies are fully rounded, an assembly of comforting songs that are in full dotage, but also have the D.N.A. of a playful scamp endearing itself to the public; in this sensual and ceremonious mixture a truth is beholden to the crowd and the listener alike, one of sustainable gentleness which David Barnicle excels in.

A wonderful return to the spotlight for the songwriter, a poet at heart, a man of complete music resource in spirit.

Ian D. Hall