In My Dreams
XII Reasons to Remember

In my dreams there might be XII reasons to remember, the question is wether or not those reasons include the XIII tracks on the debut album of the band In My Dreams. A debut album with an inconspicuous cover artwork and not really that exciting looking name either to be brutally honest. There can be no doubt that these guys are German as everything on their website seems to be in that language and a lot on the album is also written in German. Doing a sweep on the interweb also seems to prove this as every website that has reviewed this album seems to be writing in German, so I might possibly be the first international reviewer who looks at this album for a review.

It is musically modern punkish rock music with a fair bit of energy, the songs are melodic and catchy most of the time but there is some variation with some calmer and softer parts through the thirteen tracks on this album. The production is modern and very polished, the songs are simple in structure and easy to take in even from the first time hearing it. I would describe it as not particularly heavy and maybe the fifty minutes of music feels just a slight bit cautious much like is the case with many debut albums I have heard over the years. I also think that the singer lacks a bit of authority, not that he is bad but he lacks the necessary power to really carry the songs to a higher level. This is probably something that will improve with experience and this is a debut album not to forget.

I have a few reservations for the singer and a few other small niggles as well but in general my view on this album is a positive one and we shall remember that it is a young band as I have seen on the band photo on the back of this album, they have the future ahead of them. The thirteen songs on this album all hold a fairly good standard and if I was to compare it to another band I think that the band Athel whom I reviewed earlier this year might be a good reference point.

The opening two tracks I think is slightly better than the ones following them, quite a bit to be honest as they grab attention and are catchy and energetic. After that comes eleven more strong tracks that in the end turns out to be a bit forgetful to be honest. The album feels as I stated earlier, a bit cautious and that sort of prohibits the band from taking more risks with the songs, risks that might have proven rewarding. This is also something that I believe comes with experience and if this band/album has any any real downsides it is the lack of experience as it feels like they lack a bit of the hunger that the best debuting bands have.

I had this album running in my car for a while and along with the roaring engine while driving it works rather well as the songs have enough of energy and the album has the right amount of variation to work well while driving, so I would say that it is an excellent driving album but maybe not as good for just listening to, it is a bit tame and a bit too ordinary for that. At least it is for me.

So if you like simplistic and catchy rock music with a singer that sounds a bit childish I think this album will not disappoint you, it probably won’t disappoint either as well but the risk is bigger. I have really enjoyed this album while I did play it in the car, maybe not as much when playing it on other occasions though but still I have found it a good album which I probably wouldn’t turn of if I accidentally started playing it.