- Progressive Rock Review - Sonic Pulsar

: : REVIEW : :

I found "Daydreaming" the new release from the husband and wife team of Ania and Dave Blomberg enjoyable at first listen. It rocks. I happened to be cruising down the road, on my way to knock off yet another of the mindless errands that so typify the "free time" of a family man, when I first popped in my new Dance On Glass CD. A moment later, I was jamming down the street. Dance on Glass has something going on here. Plenty of energy and spirit. The music is founded on programmed electronics and hammers down the road with grinding guitar rhythms accented by edgy leads sections. Essentially, the music is both gothic and ethereal. I was even reminded of the band "Midnight Oil" in a place or two.

The music, while dark and moody, has an ever so slight hint of popiness here and there. Regardless, I found this to be great driving music. If your alive at all it will have you rocking your head back and forth over the steering wheel and thumping out the beat by the end of the first track.

Ania Blomberg provides lead vocals on all of the tracks. Formally of Battalion D'amour her vocals are well suited to the Gothic, rolling feel of the music. Her sound is a little haunting and nicely sharp. Her oft repeated choruses on the guitar driven pieces carry you through the songs until you become lost in the music and find yourself as much "feeling" the music as listening to it.

As I said, perfect for cruising down life's byways. David Blomberg's (New Model Army) guitars provide the absolute essential heart of the music, grinding and continuous, complimenting the vocals and creating a very distinctive
sound. If you like any tune on this release you will like them all. I'll just bet these folks are a kick in concert. I could even see (though you wouldn't want to watch me) dancing to these tunes.
Thematically the songs are a little haunted and fearful. The tunes give me an 'I don't belong here' or slightly acculturated feeling. Perhaps even just a little claustrophobic. Wanting only to get out. To be elsewhere. To start walking and not to stop or in the bands own words to be "Not Here." I imagine this feel would be right up the Gothic crowds alley. Tracks with titles such as "Dying so Slowly" could hardly miss. Two of the tracks are in Polish the first of which, "Sama," I really like. I have no idea what it is about but I like the feel of it. Also, any Depeche Mode fans will likely enjoy the cover version of "Never Let Me Down."

This is a good CD in a style that I don't get exposed to too much of. I hope that there is more out there and more to come from Dance On Glass. This seems to me to be what the Eighties and Nineties music scene could have been. I suppose that it is never too late. I'd imagine that this release will do pretty well for itself. I would recommend this one to the crowd it was intended for and to those who like good guitar driven pieces or to anyone who is on the lookout for good party music.

I'm going to have to give this one....................8.5 keyboards!

Reviewed by: Steven J. Mynaugh

: : Visit the artist website's : :
http://www.danceonglass.co.uk/

: : DISCOGRAPHY : :
DAYDREAMING: 2002