Kelly Lee Owens – ‘Dreamstate’ album review: For dreaming and dancing
THE SKINNY: Since making her debut in 2017, Welsh producer Kelly Lee Owens has consistently proven her talent for creating and sustaining ambience throughout an album’s entire runtime. Inner Song, released in 2020, perhaps marked the height of this, pulling in elements of techno and airy vocals to create something truly transcendent, while her last offering, LP.8, pushed her sonic atmospheres into grainier, grittier directions. But her latest album, Dreamstate, shrugs off that expectation.
Rather than creating a record that induces calm and contemplation like Inner Song or crafting something harsh and noisy like LP.8, Owens has opted to push further into the club realm to hide her penchant for ambience under pulsing beats and polished pop vocals. Dreamstate isn’t entirely devoid of her previous trademarks — those swirling vocalisations are still present alongside ethereal synths — but it pushes her interests in techno and pop further to the fore.
This makes for a slightly more inconsistent listen than some of Owens’ earlier releases. Danceable, remix-ready tracks are juxtaposed against songs full of soft strings and keys, while Owens’ vocals flit between those ethereal wails and polished pop choruses. It makes Dreamstate, contrary to its name, a little less engrossing than Inner Song, but it also makes it a little more unpredictable.
But the most well-crafted songs on Dreamstate are those where Owens leans into her experimentation with ambience, when she allows her vocals and her production to wander freely rather than constraining them to the club. Closer ‘Time & Desire’ is a fine example of this, devoid of the beats that make up much of the album, finding beauty in strings and synths instead.
For fans of: Mixing pop into ambient, with little regard for the confusion it might cause your audience.
A concluding and imagined comment from John Cale: “I see why you didn’t ask me to feature on this one.”
Dreamstate track by track:
Release date: October 18th | Label: dh2 | Producer: Kelly Lee Owens
‘Dark Angel’: The opening moments to Dreamstate, which pair swelling synths with swirling vocalisations, may lead you to believe that the album is a continuation of the atmosphere Owens created on her last few offerings. Far from it, ‘Dark Angel’ suddenly falls into pulsing synths and beats, forgoing ambience in favour of the dancefloor. [3.5/5]
‘Dreamstate’: This pulsing energy tumbles into the title track, fusing Owens’ techno tendency with her dreamier stylings. “Dreamstate,” she repeatedly whispers over an unrelenting synth line and a sheen of backing vocals, somehow creating a song suitable for both dreaming and dancing. [3.5/5]
‘Love You Got’: Owens delivers some truly perfect pop vocals on ‘Love You Got’, drenching her ruminations on desire and longing with harsh, overpowering synths. It almost straddles the realm of the club and the radio, failing to find its feet in either, but it’s a stellar example of Owens’ vocal talent. [2.5/5]
‘Higher’: ‘Higher’ opens with another more meditative intro, sprinkling birdsong amidst synths that seem to surround you, but Owens’ voice and a pulsing beat quickly plunge the song back into more pop-adjacent territory. “It’s our time,” she affirms in a quieter moment before taking her place on the dancefloor. [3/5]
‘Rise’: ‘Rise’ is a little less up-and-down than its predecessor, creating a more consistent atmosphere akin to Owens’ earlier work. Her airy vocals float above a more subtle beat and a wash of synths as she repeats, “I’m myself again.” It’s one of few songs on the record that might require a remix to fit comfortably into a club setting, but it’s a little more striking as a result. [3/5]
‘Ballad (In The End)’: Owens pushes into much mellower realms on ‘Ballad (In The End)’, allowing quivering synths and sombre vocals to take precedence over any club-worthy beats. “I tried, I tried, but what is life on the sides?” Owens asks, showing off a more atmospheric and emotional side to her vocals. [3.5/5]
‘Sunshine’: The bouncy sounds of ‘Sunshine’ come a month or too late to live up to their full potential, primed for play in the midst of summer, but it’s still one of the more interesting entries on Dreamstate. Owens pastes her repeated declarations of the title word over an ever-rising beat, building an intensity that might put her more ambient-adjacent listeners off. [3/5]
‘Air’: ‘Air’ quickly picks up where ‘Sunshine’ left off, pushing Owens’ experimentations with electronica into slightly moodier territory. More atmospheric synths return to the fore, finding their place amidst the more abrasive pulses, while Owens’ voice almost blends into the soundscape. [3/5]
‘Time To’: “It’s time to find greater peace of mind,” Owens sings at the opening ‘Time To, her voice adorned by softer synths than Dreamstate has largely leant on. The track leans back into those more dance-adjacent sounds, but it feels a little closer to the atmospheres Owens is known for creating, allowing her airy vocals and electronics to swirl around one another. [3.5/5]
‘Trust & Desire’: Owens’ polished voice works against the instrumentation in ‘Trust & Desire’, which is stripped back to shimmers and soft keys. She sings of topics just as tender, of hope, of desire, and of being alone but owning it. “Trust and desire,” she sings over stirring strings, “I got trust and desire, trust and desire.” It’s a gorgeous end to the album, though it sounds completely different to much of Dreamstate. [3.5/5]
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