Reviewed by Harry Kaplan
This is dream pop extraordinaire. It is so dreamy, I feel like taking a nap. But not because I am bored, on the contrary. It is because the music is so relaxing and comforting. If you are a fan of dream pop such as Galaxie 5oo, Mazzy Star, and Psychic Ills, you will absolutely love this. It is spacey, harmonic, psychedelic, and twangy. Put that all together and you get a musical collection that is brilliant and super easy on the ears. Let’s not forget incredibly infectious.
This collection is six songs and comes in at 41 minutes. This means that the songs are a little on the long side. Not to worry, they go very fast and do not seem long at all. The two outliers are Had A Revelation (Track 4), which clocks in at 3:49 and Hottevilla (Track 5), which clocks in at 11:01. The other songs are in the five to seven minute length. No need to get too caught up on the times. After listening to Hottevilla, I was ready to queue it up again for another listen. It is a little on the slow side, but slow does not have to be a bad word. It works very well for RF Shannon. He knows how to craft a trippy, totally atmospheric masterpiece.
My go to song right now is Jaguar Palace (Track 1). This is a lush, rich number that is so gorgeous it should be in a museum. It is spacey and dreamy and so melodic, it can put you in a trance. The songs starts off with some flute that sounds like something off of a Jethro Tull album. That is where the similarities end. Where Jethro Tull would go for the noisy guitar, RF Shannon opts for the peaceful sounds of the forest and some soothing piano. This is definitely a song I tend to gravitate towards.
The next number is the perfect follow up. In The Wilds Of My Mind (Track 2) is what you would expect from a song about going deep into one’s mind. It is definitely psychedelic and experimental. Maybe this song was written under the influence of certain “chemicals”. I am not sure, but I would definitely tend to say affirmative. This is another totally comforting song that takes you to another place, time and dimension. And you don’t need any chemicals or other assistants.
If you are a fan of that shoegazer music or dream pop, you will not be able to pass this up. This also leans a little bit on the country side as well with twang galore. I really cannot say enough good things about Jaguar Palace. Give it a try and I am sure you will draw the same conclusions.