It has taken 15 years for Âme to get round to their debut album, but ‘Dream House’ confirms the wait has been worth it. Clearly the duo have spent a long time putting this together, and have chosen a wholly appropriate guest list of vocalists to complement some stellar instrumental moments. Among the best of these recruits is Matthew Herbert, whose ‘The Line’ builds with slowly layering vocals to a densely textured whole. Making a similarly strong impact is Jens Kuross, whose vocal hook ‘sweet dreams for sour times’ brings a meaningful edge to Give Me Your Ghost, while the autotuned vocals of Planningtorock on ‘Blind Eye’ get ever more manic as the song goes on. The excellent instrumentals include some sharper edged electro in ‘Queen Of Toys’, and some dreamy oscillations in ‘Positivland’, where the Berlin duo show their ability to knit together some really appealing melodies and textures. All this and no ‘Rej’ in sight, which is a great move – proving that Âme have the necessary tools to carve a rather beautiful and deeply meaningful electronic album.
Ben Hogwood
5 out of 5
ÂME – DREAM HOUSE – INNERVISIONS
