Description
It’s been sixteen years since Dean Manning had his last solo release, but it’s been worth the wait. You might know Dean better through some of his other collaborative efforts, think Leonardo’s Bride (who doesn’t have nostalgic flashbacks to Abby Dodson’s mellifluous vocals on “Even When I’m Sleeping”?), or Holidays on Ice, with Frente‘s Angie Hart and Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), or more recently on recordings with Tinkerbellslutbaby. Three singles have already been released from the album earlier this year; “Be My Friend”, “Casino Town” and “Messy Time”.
He was joined again on this album by Stella Mozgawa on drums, along with multi-instrumentalist Justin Stanley (Beck, Prince, Leonard Cohen) who mixed the album.
It’s a beautifully well-crafted album. The instrumentation is varied and imaginative. Dean’s voice is always soothing and varied with the occasional use of the vocoder. This album is a skillful amalgam of dream-pop and shimmering melancholia.