July Skies - Dreaming of Spires
(Rocket Girl)
July Skies' debut CD follows a great single released on Roison Records in late 2000. The subtlety and quiet simplicity in July Skies' music lends the gentle ambience a refreshing life. This soft strength made their debut 7" single a standout release last year.
Of the four tracks on that debut single, three are included on the album, however, two of them were completely rerecorded, and the third was further treated, so it's technically different as well. The twelve songs that make up Dreaming of Spires don't deviate from the sound established on the first single. Which is: simple, stripped down songs, mostly played with a couple of guitars and nice blissed out male vocals.
The album is really pretty short, clocking in at just under 37 minutes. And that's twelve songs. The album blurs a bit after the first couple of tracks, leaving the listener in a bit of a haze and unsure of how long the album has been playing. This is due in part to the washed out production, but also, sadly, because of the similarities between all of the songs. There isn't much variety to be had, so not much sticks out, though track 8, "So Sad Today" does have a great ascending guitar melody ala Piano Magic's brilliant moments. And actually, while I'm at it, I may as well compare the entire mood of the album to Piano Magic. I mean, come on, "So Sad Today"! That's SO Piano Magic (in other words, overly melodramatic). Which isn't to say that July Skies fall short because of this, it's just how they operate and in fact, they actually do it better than Piano Magic.
Being a little weighted down by its undeviating path, this album is not quite the refreshing breath of simplicity that the single was, but it still makes for great late-night listening, and when I've put it in and programmed the CD player to play 4 or 5 tracks, it's great.
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