We might live in an artistic world still fascinated with notions of genres and styles but it is the music that cuts across such nonsense that seems destined to last. This music doesn’t worry about ticking this box or that, instead, it seems to adopt a sound that can best be described as classic. Classic, in this sense, is music that feels as if you have been listening to it your whole life. That could mean different things to different people, but for me, at least, Steve Noonan‘s Dreamland sounds classic.
A collection of songs built around lush 12-string guitars, chiming piano and his warm and confident vocals, skirting rock, blues and pop, it’s not that it sounds like you have heard it before, its more that it feels like you should have heard it before.
Either Way kicks things off in fine style, staccato riffs driving a lush and lilting beat, the title track gently anthemic and slightly reminiscent of such roots/pop cross overs as Bruce Hornsby and The Range and One More Second Chance exploring some darker emotions.
Music destined to be called classic normally takes time to mature, work its way into the public consciousness and earn such a label. But sometimes it seems to turn up fully formed and appropriately labelled. Dreamland is one of those times.
