Dream Circus – Land of Make Believe (2012)

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For fans of commercial alternative rock with some grunge influences, today we have Dream Circus and their debut full-length “Land of Make Believe”. Not being our main cup of tea, this release delivers 10 tracks of catchy music that we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s playing on the radio when we go to a supermarket or something like that. This Portuguese band does a solid job in creating effective guitar-driven tracks, but ultimately fails to grab our attention due to its very traditional nature.

Rocking hard since the opener “Make Believe”, the band nicely sets a very enjoyable mood with soaring vocals and well-crafted guitars. Not challenging themselves too much, the band goes through tracks like “So Long”, “Crown”, “Going Down”, and “Poison” with a rather simple, but effective, musical structure. James Powell’s vocals are probably the best thing worth noticing since they are very good and similar to what mainstream bands sound like.

Showcasing their abilities to deliver slower and more melancholic tracks, “Criminal” is probably our favorite track since it reminds us to some of the more emotional side of the grunge movement back in the 90’s with bands like Blind Melon. Another interesting track in this release is Southern Rock-sounding “Waiting”. With sharp guitars and well-paced drums, this is one of the few more original tracks that the band presents in this release and a very enjoyable one indeed.

Mixing everything from Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and more recent alternative influences, the band is not bad at all, it is just not what we usually listen to.  However, if you like mellow and relaxing Rock releases that have great vocals and excellent musicianship, “Land of Make Believe” is quite enjoyable. The band has influences from great bands of the last 10-15 years or so, making them a treat for any Alternative Rock fan.

Band: Dream Circus Album: Land of Make Believe
Label: Ethereal Sound Works

Release: September 10th, 2012

Oficial Site myspace

Genre: Alternative Rock

Country: Portugal

Rating: 85/100
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