Search - Bill Holt :: Dreamies Program Twelve (The End Is Near)

The new dark DREAMIES

Barry P. Saranchuk | Moosic, PA United States | 01/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When the first DREAMIES album was concieved the times were much different....you could "relax and let your mind float downstream",but now darkness surrounds the psyche of Bill Holt(and America).



So ,if you are coming to this project with the idea that this will calm and soothe your shredded hopes,...you will be disappointed. BUT if you want to hear from a "friend" that sees the times for what they are ,and hear what (to me) seems like one of the best "protest" albums of the 2000's,then this will make you very happy.



The music this time 'round is more Residents oriented in a computer/synth way,but well done,...and where the first Dreamies was a trip into possibilities,this one is a trip to the edge of oblivion. Sampled Cowboy movies mix with samples of "W" talking about the war on terror to chilling effect,while a call to(or even on)911 is very stark as a reminder of that awful day,...there are sort of "funny" statements here too. One is made through using a recording of a cold computer voice urging you to move your Zucchini,....a statement that I take as revealing how cold things have become even in everyday living,like shopping.



So,in the end ,this is so much more effective a statement than,say,Neil Young's LIVING WITH WAR....and my congratulations go out to Bill Holt for making a snapshot of these confusing and scary times ,all with a glimps back to that more innocent time that the first DREAMIES was very much a part of.



Will there ever be a "Program 13"? Hmmmm......



This deserves a place in the library of congress,....or at least a time-capsule. So that this angle on our modern times will be represented to future generations(God willing)."