Fast forward to 1995, and Soma's long delayed second album finally gets released (originally recorded in 1992). By the mid 1990s, as mentioned in the Mr. Quimby review, a certain blasé attitude had penetrated the targeted audience. Whether through overexposure, redundancy, or saturation - who knows - but many of us were exhausted of the style. And to top it off, Soma's album was already 3 years in the can, and was now finally being issued by an obscure Italian label with little distribution. I gave it the short shrift back then, tossed it quickly and said "same ol' same ol'" It wasn't fair, but I was still digesting hundreds of new albums in the mid 90s, and only the best of the best were standing out. I recently received a second chance to buy the CD through a used set sale, and I jumped on it.
A revisit has been kind to Dreamtime. In reality, you can hear the band had actually matured, while expanding their sound to incorporate more sophisticated structures. As such, Soma's final album isn't so much a space rock rave-up, but rather a progressive rock album via the Hawkwind lens. Complex meter shifts, and vocal fronted rock music aren't necessarily the common tools of the jamming space rock trade, but are more than welcome to this listener anyway. Too bad Soma didn't really get their chance to shine in the spotlight. I bet a reunion, similar to what Omnia Opera just pulled off, would prove to be quite a revelation.
Ownership: CD: 1995 Beard of Stars
5/9/11 (new entry)
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