SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DOPAMINE DREAM – DOPAMINE DREAM

DOPAMINE DREAM
DOPAMINE DREAM
SON DOWN RECORDS

Dopamine Dream is the second album from the Toronto-based band. Dopamine Dream debuted in 2023 with the album Unknown, and during the last two years, the band grew and expanded their sound. This album shows a band who is willing to explore and incorporate their influences to create a very unique sound. The band consists of Andrew Rucklidge (keyboard/lap steel guitar), Benjamin Bombier (bass), Jay Crafton (drums, mandolin and he engineered the album) and Peirson Ross Guitar (vocals, guitars and he produced the album). The album is a straight-ahead rock album with many twists and turns to not only keep the listener interested but also take them on an inward journey.

Initially, one might think that the album is kind of all over the place, and like many great albums of the past, it is and that is the point. The mixture of genres and styles is simply refreshing. It is great to hear tasteful guitar solos mixed in with very original song structures. Nothing is off limits. And Dopamine Dream does wear their influences on their sleeve. “Other World – Horizon” if Talking Heads and The Killers collaborated to create a prog rock album. Then later shift gears and tap into alternative rock with songs like “100 Proof” (think early 1970s Bowie in a slightly alternative universe) and the closing track, “Grow Reprise” (the album opens with “Child Inside – Grow”), which is pretty much an instrumental that would not be out of place in the film Blue Velvet.

Elsewhere, the band taps into straight rock-pop with songs like “Pavlov’s Stray,” which in a different time would have been a huge hit. Here Ross demonstrates a restrained, pleading vocal that works and demonstrates just how strong he is as a vocalist. Mind you, his guitar playing is very stellar throughout the album. In fact, the same can be said for all the members of the band. This is a tight unit with a fantastic rhythm section (Bombier and Crafton) and Rucklidge’s interesting and sometimes retro keyboard playing really fills out their sound.

Dopamine Dream is a very strong album by an extremely talented band. This is rock ‘n’ roll with an alternative edge. It is an album that requires a great deal of attention and benefits from repeated plays. There is always something new to discover when listening to the album. Dopamine Dream serves as a reminder that there are still some serious rockers out there making incredible music. Dopamine Dream is clearly part of that collective.

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