After falling within the ominous space, Kelly Lee Owens swerves in the opposite direction and lands on something more harmonious. ‘Dreamstate’ pulls Kelly Lee Owens into a brighter sound palette, pulling forth progressive house touches that bring a euphoric yearning with her most endearing vocals and melodies to date.
Back when Kelly Lee Owens put together ‘LP.8’ back in 2022, that project showcased a swerve from her usual minimal house and techno tapestries into something that is a lot dim but also intriguing, parsing between production and melodies that owe more to a post-industrial palette while charting in softer ambiance and vocal coos that brings those distinct elements to collide in a magnificent way. It’s a record that instills an impeccable quality for Kelly Lee Owens as an artist and certainly puts more curiosity towards whatever sound she will head towards next, where all bets are off on where she will go after the stunning flair of ‘LP.8’. Two years after that record, she continues towards making a swerve in tone and expression, eventually landing upon ‘Dreamstate’ with a gleaming state of mind.
In comparison with ‘LP.8’, ‘Dreamstate’ flips some elements around as she leans on the progressive side of house music and gives more shine within a lot of the tunes that she has made - with production collaborations from Bicep, Tom Rowlands, and George Daniel. Wherein ‘LP.8’ touches on some alien and ominous tones contrasted with chilling ambient, ‘Dreamstate’ focuses on the ethereal textures and blisteringly sunny melodies that Kelly Lee Owens manages to impart a lot of fantastic soundscapes all across the board as she gives her buoyant singing and earnest yearnings to the forefront. The dense mantra-like swells of ‘Dreamstate’ impart that dreamy air as the song starts with a lilting atmosphere and emotive vocals just before it slowly transitions to the immense warbling house beats and vocal calls at the end, the melodic bursts on ‘Love You Got’ sticks its euphoric yearnings as Kelly Lee Owen’s airy vocals take focus that careens through the crescendo and all of its shuffling grooves, the rising crescendo that is supported by an organ synth on ‘Higher’ that heightens its melodic pulse amidst vocals that do try to reach a higher elevation, and the gliding waves of synth melodies that comes through ‘Rise’ which later leads into more sweeping reverbed walls of atmosphere.
Of course, amidst those pulsing tones, Kelly Lee Owens implements slower tunes to further encapsulate that yearning for a spark within this world. ‘Ballad (In The End)’ is a prime example of this as the additions of strings surround the gleaming synth passages and Kelly Lee Owen’s tender vocals to echo that heartfelt yearning across whatever dimension it heads towards, so does the quicker synth and percussive lines on ‘Time To’ that comes after the solemn atmosphere and wondrous vocal touches, and especially the pure desire of ‘Trust and Desire’ that ends the record with nothing but keys and strings that envelops around Kelly Lee Owen’s vocals, where that earnestness is heard clearly without the electronics to accompany that message. Sometimes, it is best to have those desires opened up within the most intimate spaces, after all.
While those euphoric touchstones do land greatly, there are still some missed opportunities or at least some missteps in a couple of songs. Perhaps some of those missteps do come from the progressions themselves that could’ve offered starker peaks to really allow that euphoric nature to spring forth, as there are certain songs that might carry a blissful melody yet don’t really lead it to a point where it creates an exhilarating crescendo or pace. However, that missed opportunity may also come towards the purely instrumental tracks that could’ve had more of Kelly Lee Owen’s singing presence which would add a lot more flair to them, and there could’ve been emphasis on those wistful tones so that yearning would pick up a lot more impeccable resonance.
But despite all those nitpicks, Kelly Lee Owens still managed to impart a different, yet still potent expression that surrounds ‘Dreamstate’, where embracing an endearingly euphoric tone paired with melodies leaning towards progressive house is truly embraced - all paired with some of Kelly Lee Owen’s expressive vocalizations to date. While it may not be as mindboggling as what she has dug within ‘LP.8’, this newest record proves that she is still changing with a heightened resolve that is wondrously manifested within her brightest and most heartfelt record to date. Within these dreamy pastures, there is a lot of tenderness that’s worth cherishing.
Favorite Tracks: ‘Dreamstate’, ‘Love You Got’, ‘Higher’, ‘Rise’, ‘Ballad (In The End)’, ‘Time To’, ‘Trust and Desire’
Least Favorite Track: ‘Air’