Soundpool - Dichotomies And Dreamland

Our review
Customer reviews
Press release

4...according to our Brett on Thu 17 Jul, 2008.

Dichotomies & Dreamland is by New York's Soundpool, Quince Records serving up more cool shoegazery business. It's always hard not to mention My Bloody Valentine with these things so I will, the vocals are definitely in that style and there's a hint of danciness to a few of the songs quite reminiscent of 'Soon'. The general sound is much less hard-hitting than MBV though, Phil reckons they sound quite like a band called State of Grace (anyone?) and Brian rightly points out that there's more than a whiff of Air (can you get a whiff of air?) to it in the synth sounds, particularly on the slower tracks. Some good tunes on here.

Featured Artists
Kim Field [voice, q-chord, omnichord]
John Cep [guitar, 2nd voice, bass, drum loops
and textures]
Mark Robinson [keyboards]
James Renard [drums, drum loops]
Manual on track 12
Ursula 1000 on track 13

Biography:
Formed in 2005, Soundpool is…. NYC based 5
piece shoegaze, space rock, audio/visual
recording artists with sweet girlie vocals,
saturated guitar sounds, lush synth
arrangements and a danceable driving rhythm
section who prefer to play out with the
backdrop of self produced psychedelic visuals
whenever they can. With the release of the
mesmerizing On High (Aloft Records/U.S.
Quince Records/Japan) - an album that
reached the top spot on the Tonevendor charts
for well over a month in late 2006 – Soundpool
has quietly placed themselves in the center of
the new shoegaze/dream pop movement of
music. With their mind-expanding and ultra
compelling psychedelic live shows, Soundpool
is honored to have shared the stage with such
great artists as Robin Guthrie, Ulrich Schnauss,
A Place To Bury Strangers, Mahogany, Asobi
Seksu, Spectrum, Star, Kyte, Auburn Lull and
Butterfly Explosion to name a few. Live,
Soundpool’s rhythm section of James Renard
& Dean McCormick lay down a danceable
foundation for John Ceparano’s saturated
overdriven guitar and Mark Robinson’s ethereal
keyboard to float on while Kim Field sings with
haunting, otherworldly detachment as she
strums on either q-chord or omnichord. They
have been fortunate to have taken the stage in
many great rooms including: Bowery Ballroom
(NYC), Studio B (Brooklyn), Mercury Lounge
(NYC), T.T. & The Bears (Boston), World Café
(Philadelphia) The Legion/Sonic Cathedral
(London, UK), The Croft (Bristol, UK).

Album Description:
Soundpool's second full length release
"Dichotomies & Dreamland" boasts two bonus
remixes from Manual & Ursula 1000, available
only on this Japanese import. These extras
aren't the only things differentiating this from its
American release: Quince re-arranged the
tracks to give an entirely different perspective
on the album's original concept. In addition,
many of the songs that were cross-faded on the
domestic release can be heard in their entirety
on this one, making some key tracks more
radio-friendly and appropriate for podcasting.
Also features Quince's high quality packaging
with all new artwork, obi, and liner notes in
Japanese & English. If you are interested
enough to be reading this, then it's a pretty safe
bet that this album is a must-have!

Tracklisting:
1. Reality Sequence
2. Pleasure & Pain
3. Lush (What Becomes You)
4. Butterflies
5. Do What You Love
6. Welcome To Dreamland
7. The Only One
8. Dream Sequence
9. The Divides Of March
10. Wide Awake In Dreamland
11. So Much For That
12. The Only One (Manual Remix)*
13. Butterflies (Ursula 1000 Remix)*