Dream Into Dust

"The Lathe of Heaven" (Album, 2003)

Chthonic Streams

I have to confess that this didn't look like something that would satisfy my needs. But having given them the chance to prove themselves, Dream Into Dust have made an impressive fist of it. Searching for indicative comparisons, it's as if Radiohead had grown up listening to nothing but 4AD bands. The Cure and Depeche Mode also come to mind. This impressive list of comparitors is only lifted higher by Derek Rush's sublime voice - central to the dark atmospheres that ebb over you throughout this release and at the heart of its distinctiveness.

The famous quote from Milton's Paradise Lost adorns the sleeve notes: "The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav'n of hell, a hell of heav'n". And with inspiration coming from other writers like Ursula LeGuin and Neil Gaiman, it comes as no surprise that the finished article has a heavyweight but never dreary intellect. Listening to The Lathe of Heaven is a bit like slipping in and out of a David Lynch film only accompanied by a slightly more optimistic soundtrack. The rich blend of acoustic and electronic instrumentation is superb; and the complex songwriting is complemented by talented production work ensuring that the entire package delivers numerous unexpected delights. 7/10 

Rob Dyer (September 2004)