Voyage (2018)
Overworld Dreams are a contemporary progressive rock band who self-describe as "New Jersey-based Prog rockers bringing old school sensibilities to modern Progressive Rock." Sounds like my kind of group!
Where to start? I always like to go to the beginning of the discography and work my way forward over time. Unless there's a strong reason not to do that, which is not the case here. As I hear these new bands releasing quality albums such as Voyage to a very small audience, I feel a sense of gratitude is much needed. From a listening perspective, what if I had discovered a tape from the 80s that sounded like this? I'd be over the moon. Such is the luxury of today and the sheer amount of product that is available to us.
ProgArchives for their part has Overworld Dreams labeled as neo prog, as does RYM. At first I wasn't so sure of either the 70's reflections nor the neo prog tag. But as the music penetrates, both of these reveal themselves. The keyboard interludes suggest an interest in 70s electronic music as well. Like many modern prog bands, the music can be a bit broad stroked, and lacks the jazzy rhythms that brings the instrumental sections to life. In this way, the term art rock comes forward. It misses the retro prog train due to a lack of analog gear, though 70's sensibilities is not the same thing as 70s's emulation, which I figure Overworld Dreams is well aware of. Nice guest appearance from guitarist Scott McGill, most known for being an integral part of Finneus Gauge, a band that was relatively well known in the late 90s. His solos provide a much needed edge.
As for best tracks, an old schooler like me gravitated immediately to 'The Puzzle'. Tracks 1, 5, & 8 are others I really enjoyed along with the electronic interludes. Good stuff all around. I'll be sure to circle back at some point and capture their next album and beyond.
4/20/25 (review)
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