Kelly Lee Owens, Dreamstate Review

Electronica

Kelly Lee Owens, Dreamstate Review

Kelly-Lee-Owens-staccatofy-cd

by Eliana Fermi

Kelly Lee Owens’ latest offering, Dreamstate, was released on October 18, 2024. It is ten tracks of alluring electronic music. Her fourth studio album, Owens keeps the core of her progressive house and techno roots intact. She also offers collaborations with heavyweights like Bicep, Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers, and George Daniel of The 1975. Owens delivers a solid, crafted sonic experience that broadens her appeal and is great for dancing.

Overall, the flow of Dreamstate evokes feelings of liberation and transcendence, encouraging listeners to let go and immerse themselves fully in the moment. It’s a significant leap from her more introspective and minimalist work on Inner Song—this time around, the energy is darker, dancier, and undeniably pop-forward.

A significant component of Dreamstate is the collaborative tracks, signaling a new chapter for Owens. Partnering with George Daniel’s new electronic imprint, dh2, she explores the fusion of techno, house, and pop with an assured confidence that reflects both personal and artistic growth. “Love You Got,” the lead single, encapsulates this shift with its infectious melody and euphoric refrain. This track, along with “Higher,” represents Owens at her most accessible—offering catchy hooks and lush, atmospheric production.

Owens’ ability to blend her signature ambient soundscapes with a more vibrant, club-ready aesthetic can be found in “Rise.” Starting with an ethereal synth pad and breathy vocals, the song quickly escalates into propulsive house beats that wouldn’t feel out of place in a warehouse rave. Even in this full-on dance moment, there is a delicacy to the way she constructs the music, allowing her signature sound to breathe and evolve in the music in unexpected ways.

Lyrically, Owens keeps things simple, focusing on themes such as love, euphoria, and transcendence. While not groundbreaking, the words themselves act as mantras within the tracks—repeated phrases that pull the listener deeper into her sonic world. “Wanna feel the core / Light up the darkest floor,” from “Love You Got,” perfectly encapsulates the album’s ethos of using music as a vehicle for escape and self-discovery.

The album’s title track, “Dreamstate,” is a prime example of Owens’ approach to minimal yet impactful lyricism. Set against a pulsating beat and shimmering synths, her vocals act as an additional instrument, weaving in and out of the mix like a ghostly guide through the dream world she’s constructed. It’s hypnotic and captivating, capturing the ineffable feeling of being lost in a dancefloor haze.

“Ballads and bangers” is how Owens describes her ethos for this album, and she delivers both with finesse. Tracks like “Sunshine” offer a danceable, radiant energy, while “Trust and Desire” closes the album on a more contemplative note. This dichotomy creates an ebb and flow, allowing the listener to experience both the highs of club euphoria and the more introspective moments that follow.

“Time To” stands out as one of the more atmospheric cuts on the album. Its Marika Hackman-like vocal delivery adds a sense of intimacy to the otherwise vast sonic landscape. Here, Owens returns to the ambient textures that marked her earlier work, but with a new sense of maturity and restraint. The track builds slowly, creating a meditative space for the listener to reflect before the final beat drops.

However, Dreamstate has its challenges. Some tracks, like “Dark Angel” and “Air,” feel more like filler than fully realized ideas. While the production is always top-notch, these songs lack the dynamism and inventiveness that characterize the album’s standout moments. They don’t detract significantly from the overall experience, but they prevent the album from achieving a truly seamless flow.

There’s also a certain predictability to the album’s structure. While Owens’ experimentation with vocals and textures keeps things interesting, some of the more repetitive house and techno elements start to blur together as the album progresses. Tracks like “Rise” and “Ballad (In the End)” carry the same emotional weight, but their placement within the album’s arc feels somewhat redundant.

Dreamstate is an album that balances accessibility with depth, offering something for casual listeners and longtime fans. Owens has managed to expand her sonic palette without losing the experimental edge that made her previous records so compelling. In general, she succeeds in creating a cohesive, immersive experience. It’s an invitation to step outside the mundane and into a space where emotions are heightened, and possibilities seem infinite—a true dream state, if you will. Whether this album will propel Owens to mainstream stardom remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: she’s crafted a work that shows her evolving artistry and creativity. That’s the short of it!

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