Album review: Oh Dreamland – Who Cares?
Oh Dreamland is the brainchild of film maker Tim Berry. Originally Berry performed around Bournemouth as a solo acoustic folk act, but wanting to bring a fuller sound to his songs, recruited local musician Martin Bassett and together they started performing under the Oh Dreamland moniker. The name is a nod from Lindsay Anderson’s black & white short ‘O Dreamland’, about Margate’s amusement park and ‘Who Cares’ the debut album from Oh Dreamland is every bit as bleak as the film. The album is a collection of mini kitchen sink dramas, each a reflection of modern society, with Berry bringing characters and their miserable existence to life in his well crafted, acerbic lyrics.
The album kicks off with my favourite song ‘Regretful Soldier’, a song about a soldier at war when he should be at home with his family (‘I couldn’t think of a thing more humiliating than dying for someone’s mistakes/ Please don’t let my family grow old without me’). Continuing with tales including a teenage shop girl doing a thankless job for no money, a woman falling for a string of bastards and a tragic case of mistaken identity by a baying mob leading to a murder, the light at the end of this particular tunnel really is that of an oncoming train. There is a brief letup however; ‘The Confessional’ is a dry, witty song about a guy watching a female singer on stage who is preoccupied with sex, ‘…and what you would confess would be anyone’s guess/ but I stare at your breasts as you sing about love and rejection’.
There is no denying that ‘Who Cares’ is relentlessly depressing, and Berry’s vocal, which is remarkably similar to David Bowie circa 1967, and the sparse folk accompaniment don’t exactly help lighten the atmosphere but I really love this album. Trust me, give it a go; just make sure your not feeling too down when you do! 9/10
Mark Cousens
Out now on Kitchen Sink
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