Celestial takes elements of early Creation Records, Sarah Records and even aspects of 1960's pop putting them in a mixer which results in one of the best albums of 2007 to date in the shape of Dream On.Celestial is Andreas Hagman and he is joined on some of the tracks by Malin Dahlberg (from We Are Soldiers We have Guns) who provides some exquisite backing vocals. A number of these songs have previously appeared on previous CDR releases but have now been re-recorded and their full potential has been realised especially in the case of Nothing Happens; Twice and Dream On which shimmer in the afterglow.
The easiest way to describe Dream On is jangle pop. Hazy guitars, poppy melodies, soulful and sometimes mournful vocals - it's all here. There are elements of The Loft, The Bodines, East Village and the Field Mice to name but a few and Celestial use their influences to great effect rather than sounding like a direct copy of any of those bands. Most important of all is how fresh and enthusiastic these songs actually sound.
A couple of the songs towards the close show a different side to both band and album. These songs are gentle and hint at alt. country/folkish roots, none more so on Pale Blue Eyes which is their own song and not a cover of the Velvet Underground track. It's a beautiful song and Dahlberg's stunning vocals come to the fore.
This is a great album and whilst it's too early to say if it will become a jangle pop classic it's pretty close to being so.
Celestial - Fragile Heart
Celestial - Dream On
Dream On is out now on Skipping Stones Records.
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oooh-- this sounds so good! thanks so much!!!!