Fantastic Dream - Dream & Flutter

Fantastic Dream

​Dream & Flutter
​self-released; 2016

3.3 out of 5

By Jamie Funk

Fantastic Dream is two high school students: Graem Krietzman and Oliver Hecker. Their recent release Dream & Flutter is a complete DIY effort that is so lo-fi it almost sounds unique. Some of the songs sound like a complete mess of sounds that could drive someone insane while others are more atmospheric in a Deerhunter kind of way.

Things open with “Spacewalk” which is one of the songs that veers towards maddening. Dissonant sounds and notes are thrown at you while a ghost of a drum kit plays in the background. There are vocals but you can’t make out a word he is saying. 

The next song “Ibv” is just about as dissonant as the first song but also has an odd ‘50s pop vibe. “Abstinent Yesterday” is a solid song with swirling instruments. The guitar and synth play a myriad of notes and the vocal line is catchy.

“Happy Pills” felt more like a filler while “Misses Kisses” has a soft, dreamlike vibe. You can hear  some influence from Deerhunter not only in the music but the vocals as well. Whoever is singing sounds similar to Bradford Cox.

The next formidable sound is “Candy Drop” which has the most overt ‘50s pop vibe. That being said he puts modulation on the guitar, which makes it sound as if you listening to the song on a dangerous amount of Quaaludes. The lyrics even harken to ‘50s pop. The vocalist sings “darling i fancy / my faith is dying away / your kisses are candy / but my heart is crying today.”

​Considering the fact that the members are so young and the music was completely DIY I’d say the duo shows some potential. They still have a ways to go to compete with the big boys but baby steps are fine.

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