Dandelion Charm - 2023 - Scream Inside The Tear

(67:44; Dandelion Charm)

Track list:
1. Stronghold of Oblivion 5:32
2. Shouting at the Sea 5:12
3. Find a Way 3:17
4. Visions and Prophecies 6:17
5. Ruth Rose 4:35
6. The Engineering of Consent 8:06
7. Daydreaming in the Undertow 4:57
8. Because 5:15
9. Warriors of the Morning 4:20
10. The Cure 5:46
11. Today 4:59
12. The Benefit of Experience 5:09
13. What Alchemy? 4:19

Line-up:
Clare Fowler - vocals
John Fowler - vocals, guitars, drums, bass, keyboards


Prolusion.
UK twosome Dandelion Charm has been an active band since 2015 or thereabouts. with Clare and John Fowler being an active presence on the live circuit as well as in the studio from 2016 and onward. This year they are out with their fourth album "Scream Inside the Tear", which was self released in the fall of 2023.

Analysis.
Dandelion Charm isn't the kind of band you will seek out if you cherish the kinds of bands that exist at the more progressive borders inside of the progressive rock universe, and in quite a few cases they do create music that exist outside of the progressive tradition too. This is a band that, at least in my view, operate on multiple bases of which the progressive rock aspect is one of many different dimensions and traditions they have chosen to incorporate into their approach to creating music. This isn't a progressive rock band as such in my opinion, but rather a band that have chosen to also include progressive rock as a part of their repertoire and a part of their musical palette.

Acoustic rock and folk music are the recurring elements throughout this album, and I don't think we will find any songs on this production that doesn't include at least one acoustic guitar and we will hardly encounter a song where the acoustic guitar isn't given a dominant role in at least one of the phases of a song either. Whether the different songs correspond more to classic folk music traditions, the singer/songwriter tradition or acoustic rock is probably a matter of discussion among the specially interested music nerds, but I think it is safe to say that all these forms are very much present on this album in some form or other.

Many of the songs trikes me as fairly easygoing affairs, at least on a core level, and we get a number of songs that focus more on the gentler and acoustic parts of their output in the first half and then segue over to a stronger focus on more expanded arrangements in the second half. With the electric guitar typically having a more prominent role in this conclusive phase. We also get songs that alternate between an acoustic dominated arrangement and more of a semi-acoustic or electric guitar dominated orientation throughout, exploring the ebb and flow motion of this approach in an impeccable manner.

For my sake I did note a small handful of songs that struck me as being a tad closer to the dreamladen landscapes of a band such as Clannad throughout, where it is the vocal lines that primarily contain similar elements to this legendary band. On one of them I made the note that this is what Clannad might have sounded like if they had decided to switch to progressive rock, which may be a helpful description in terms of trying to imagine what these specific songs sound like. And while many of the songs do come with a bit of a dreamladen or even uplifting mood and atmosphere, with regular inclusions of melancholic moments, the dark and haunting 'Warriors of the Morning' is a standout track for me just because it has this more unique focus on a more menacing mood in the context of this album.

Otherwise I note that subtle orchestral inspired keyboard textures are a sometime and tasteful presence in many of the songs, a nervous electric piano of the type I tend to associate with a band such as Led Zeppelin and their more expressive songs make some welcome and charming appearances, and tips of the hat in the direction of both psychedelic rock and blues rock is a part of the experience here too. That everything has been tastefully assembled and executed with an air of elegance and security probably merits a mention too. With this being very much an album experience rather than a mere collection of songs.

Conclusion.
While this isn't an album that comes with a "purebred progressive rock inside" stamp on the cover, this is an album that comes with variety and diversity throughout of which several songs touch base with the progressive rock tradition and more often than not venture into the progressive rock universe proper too when that is the case. If you find the notion of a band that explore folk, folk rock and acoustic rock in several different guises that also include progressive rock to be of interest, then this is a tasteful and elegant album that you should find to be quite the rewarding experience.

Olav "Progmessor" Björnsen, October 2023

Links:
https://www.dandelioncharm.com/