Dream Songs

Dream Songs is the debut solo album by Canadian musician Devon Welsh. It was self-released through digital download on August 24, 2018 on Welsh's own label You Are Accepted.[3][4] It was Welsh's first studio album as a solo artist since he and producer Matthew Otto concluded their musical project Majical Cloudz in 2016.

For the John Berryman book, see The Dream Songs.
Dream Songs
Studio album by
Devon Welsh
ReleasedAugust 24, 2018
StudioAustin Tufts' studio, Montreal, Quebec[1]
GenreChamber pop[2]
Length40:55
LabelYou Are Accepted
ProducerAustin Tufts
Devon Welsh chronology
Down the Mountain
(2016)		 Dream Songs
(2018)		 True Love
(2019)
Singles from Dream Songs
  1. "I'll Be Your Ladder"
    Released: May 15, 2018
  2. "Vampires"
    Released: June 15, 2018
  3. "By the Daylight"
    Released: July 20, 2018

Written by Welsh, the album was recorded and produced by Braids' Austin Tufts in his Montreal studio. The album marked a clear departure from the electronic pop sound of Welsh's previous work to a more melodic, chamber pop sound with traditional instruments like guitar, piano, and orchestral strings.[5][2]

Release

Dream Songs was self-released by Welsh through his own newly-created record label You Are Accepted. In contrast, the last two Majical Cloudz albums were distributed by Matador Records. In an interview with Billboard, Welsh explained, "I like making music, and I like putting it out there and having people listen to it. The stuff in the middle was stressful to me. I wanted to do it in a way where it was me making the choices and me taking the risks, where I felt like I didn’t have to take a label's vision into account -- or the expectations of anybody else in terms of what success would be defined as."[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Exclaim!7/10[6]
Pitchfork6.9/10[5]
PopMatters7/10[7]
Spectrum Culture[8]
Under the Radar7.5/10[9]

Reviewing the album for Exclaim!, Matt Bobkin stated that, "Dream Songs pushes Welsh's songcraft forward without abandoning his strengths."[6] Writing for Pitchfork, Evan Rytlewski called Dream Songs an "unflinchingly candid debut solo album" and praised its instrumentation, calling it a "backdrop of lovely, spacious music that grants Welsh's pliable voice full freedom to preen, wander, and soar."[5] BrooklynVegan's Andrew Sacher deemed the album "bigger and more complex, but not so much so that it ruins the intimacy that always made Devon's music appealing" and said, "When Devon rings out his notes, you can feel the passion that's driving every single word. These songs tend to be delicate, but they aren't passive. The emotional weight in these songs is so heavy, that even the quietest moments have no trouble commanding your attention."[2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Devon Welsh.

No.TitleLength
1."By the Daylight"3:27
2."Summer's End"4:51
3."Dreams Have Pushed You Around"4:30
4."Vision"4:47
5."Comedian"2:40
6."Chances"4:44
7."Vampires"3:55
8."I'll Be Your Ladder"4:54
9."Over the Sky"3:34
10."Take It Easy"3:33
Total length:40:55

Personnel

Credits adapted from Bandcamp and Discogs.[10][11]

  • Devon Welsh – songwriting, string arrangement
  • Thomas Beard – cello
  • Ben Dwyer – double bass
  • Christopher Honeywell – cover photograph
  • Kyle Jukka – guitar (on "Summer's End")
  • Kate Maloney – violin
  • Austin Milne – saxophone (on "I'll Be Your Ladder")
  • Harris Newman – mastering
  • Austin Tufts – production, string arrangement
  • Christoph Vandory – viola
gollark: They rely on fancy internal magic, and have bad properties like needing to be run unconditionally and in the same order each time.
gollark: No.
gollark: <@509984943833874432> Hooks are EVIL. EVIL.
gollark: I like the Elm *architecture*, just not *much of Elm*.
gollark: If you hate React why are you using it?

References
  1. Murphy, Sarah (July 20, 2018). "Devon Welsh of Majical Cloudz Announces 'Dream Songs' Solo LP". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  2. Sacher, Andrew (August 24, 2018). "Five Notable Releases of the Week (8/24)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  3. Cooke, Shawn (August 24, 2018). "Devon Welsh On Ending Majical Cloudz and His Hopeful Solo Debut: 'I Put Energy Into' Being Kinder to Myself". Billboard. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  4. Sundermann, Eric (August 23, 2018). "Devon Welsh Is a Voice of Reason on His Solo Debut 'Dream Songs'". Noisey. Vice. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  5. Rytlewski, Evan (August 28, 2018). "Devon Welsh: Dream Songs Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  6. Bobkin, Matt (August 22, 2018). "Devon Welsh Dream Songs". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  7. Ragucos, Dustin (August 28, 2018). "Going Solo Lets Devon Welsh Understand Loneliness in 'Dream Songs'". PopMatters. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  8. Stevens, Nathan (August 29, 2018). "Devon Welsh: Dream Songs". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  9. Adcock, Lee (September 14, 2018). "Devon Welsh: Dream Songs (You Are Accepted) Review". Under the Radar. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  10. "Dream Songs by Devon Welsh". Bandcamp. August 24, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  11. "Devon Welsh – Dream Songs". Discogs. August 24, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
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