Dero Arcade
Pop, 2019

Tamaryn’s Dreaming the Dark is full of synth-pop tunes that have this soothing, lovely ambient—the kind that plays in a hipster bar where the patrons are more interested in their drinks and pre-hookup little talks. The effect is heightened by the artist’s clear vocals that cut through all the heavy bling-bling production of the tracks. Whether she’s going for a banshee-like high note or just crooning in dulcet tones, the overall effect is music with both vocals and backing tracks that can produce a pleasant numbing effect to calm the mind.

Unfortunately, this also means that it is easy, probably way too easy, to fall asleep to this album. Is this a bad thing? Not really, no, as given how it is better off these days to stay at home as much as possible, getting that nice little quiet calm in the head before drifting off to sleep is actually a nice way to spend the time. Still, a part of me wishes that things could be a bit more exciting.

You see, the opening track, the intriguingly-titled Angels of Sweat, is easily the best track here because it is a rousing, often erotic, and always hypnotic trance-like mid-tempo song that dips into gentle calm and soars into rampant horny banshee mode effortlessly. The result is a head trip that can make the blood hum. Having sated myself on this amazing song, it can be a long way down from the high, to find that the rest of the songs here are just okay.

Sure, it’s a lovely kind of okay, and I certainly enjoy having Dreaming the Dark played on a loop in the background as I go about my day, but still… Angels of Sweat. I wish there’s more of that here. The other songs aren’t a great fix, not after the glorious jolt of adrenaline that is that song.