SPILL FILM REVIEW: THE DREAM SYNDICATE - HOW DID WE FIND OURSELVES HERE?

THE DREAM SYNDICATE – HOW DID WE FIND OURSELVES HERE?

WILDWOOD PICTURES

JUNE 23, 2023

There is a certain negative line of thinking when music documentaries are concerned, particularly when they deal with chronological history of an artist or a band.

That line usually says that bands come and go, during their history they have their ups and their downs, their harmony and their strife moments, band members coming and going, and the band regrouping. Essentially, it is a cyclical process that repeats itself, it is more or less the same for many.

Sure, but there is one flaw in that line of thinking – bands are composed of individuals, not faceless members of a mass, so each band dynamic has its specifics, and more importantly it all revolves around the music the band creates.

So that brings us to The Dream Syndicate, and quite an impressive documentary titled The Dream Syndicate – How Did We Find Ourselves Here? that coincides with the release of the 40th anniversary boxset of the band’s first album, The Days Of Wine And Roses.

The rock history (and this documentary) remembers The Dream Syndicate as a band that always had a key stamp of one Steve Wynn on its music, and that had exactly that same dynamic described above, but with some key specifics that make this documentary worth the time of any rock fan.

Mainly, because since its early days to today, The Dream Syndicate continued to operate (with breaks), but mostly for the fact that it created some incredible music, both in the studio and live (their Live at Raji’s album from 1989 being one of the best live albums around), with their first album The Days Of Wine And Roses getting unanimous critics and fan acclaim, with their other 80s albums creating controversies among both groups, and their 21-st century albums being criminally neglected for some reason or other.

It is all reviewed and discussed in this film by all current and former members of the band. An essential viewing for all rock fans.