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Avalon "the first dream pop album"

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Topic: Avalon "the first dream pop album"
Posted By: Icarium
Subject: Avalon "the first dream pop album"
Date Posted: January 06 2016 at 08:29

I wonder, is the album Avalon by the famous band Roxy Music, the first to sort of hint towards dream pop, or shoegaze. I’m thinking, it creates such warm landscapes of sound, which is reminiscent, of what i hear when I listen to dream pop, shoegaze and electro pop; the washing sound that takes you of to another realm. A dozing sound which also feels like floating, on a sea of valium; a tranquilized sound that sweeps you of your good feet.

 I tend to think that way, that this album created so many nice atmospheric songs, and also experimentation involved makes it so worth the thought of it having an impact on the style of music, called dream pop/shoegaze.  

 the album also carries a minimalistic feel, a feel of letting the atmospheres, the soul of the instrument rather than the flashy, but when the impression i have is that the creative energy was spent more on creating "sounds", an ethereal crossed with aerial, which with that creates a contrast between earth and air, the solid and the free. Keeps you both on the ground, yet still manage to sweep you of your feet, like Peter Pan on the way to Never Neverland, Or to Avalon, or Wonderland, or Oz. It is to me a mixture of realism and fantasy. Which is also what dream pop, and electro pop does to me, not lyrically but with the focus on creating the dense sound.

 I find Avalon to be a unique album in the way it perfects the sort of idea i think the band (or Ferry) had, life is like a dream, existence is like the flow of the wind, life is like drifting, love is deeply grounded into soil but also an experience of the lofty and free feel of air, yet it also has the fiery nature of fire, and the fluidity of water.

 Yet is there hidden elements of fiery nature, and dampness of wetness on Avalon, I feel more fire in the guitar and in some of the drumming, which creates the contrast of the airy and ethereal nature of the synth, sax and oboe. And Avalon is an island surrounded by water, so the album is a journey over stilled water, with the only view is the fog that encases you.

All the atmospheres it creates in me, a feel of dreamyness, a dream state of sorts, and it is an art pop album. That combines in my mind an idea of this being a dream pop, shoegaze album of an early stage.



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Replies:
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: January 06 2016 at 12:07
It's a pleasant album but obviously it was the end of 'Roxy Music' and was really a Bryan Ferry solo album more than anything else. Ferry always wanted to be a sophisticated  'love song' crooner imho and this was very evident with this one.
There are some beautiful tracks here but it's not something I return to when I want to hear Roxy.


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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin


Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: January 06 2016 at 23:01
In a word - "No". It was the pinnacle of 'classy lounge-lizard Ferry' Roxy. Enjoyable to a degree, but nothing dreamy here - rather 'nightmarish'............


Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: January 07 2016 at 06:14
Originally posted by Tom Ozric Tom Ozric wrote:

In a word - "No". It was the pinnacle of 'classy lounge-lizard Ferry' Roxy. Enjoyable to a degree, but nothing dreamy here - rather 'nightmarish'............

I agree, it was when Roxy changed from an innovative band into some kind of lounge music band.


Posted By: Tom Ozric
Date Posted: January 07 2016 at 06:19
^ having said, I didn't fall for Flesh And Blood, but Avalon was better.........



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