This Specific Dream is a very non-specific band. From its vague and ambiguous artwork, barely legible track listing and sparse web site to its unwieldy and baffling blend of post-rock, doom and space music, the Milwaukee-based instrumental quartet remains a mystery. Featuring four songs spanning nearly 52 minutes, Ohm is This Specific Dream's second release -- only 200 copies were available of the band's first album, an untitled self-issued disc made in 2004 – and the two standout tracks also happen to be the longest.
"Cicada," clocking in at 21:22, makes good on its title referring to a noisy insect by creating an incessant buzzing throughout much of the first half, occasionally drowned out by down-tuned power chords and doom-filled percussion. The song chugs to a climax at about the halfway point, when it makes an abrupt acoustic shift before veering into more ambient territory. It's a tumultuous sonic journey that narrowly trumps Ohm's nearly 14-minute finale, "Mode Seven." That track, the album's heaviest, initially recallls "Cicada" before eventually morphing into a more traditional, song-oriented piece.
Don't be surprised if Ohm leaves you scratching your head while pressing play again; I have a feeling that's exactly what the members of This Specific Dream intended.
Track Listing
1) The Ark
2) Cicada
3) A Slight Intermission
4) Mode Seven
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