To sleep, perchance to dream. Why do we sleep? What are the biological reasons behind dreams? For Armor For Sleep singer and songwriter, Ben Jorgensen sleep at least offers a respite from the interminable weariness of writing yet another ‘lucid’ anthem. Flying, falling, floating out onto the street, not being able to move, living inside someone else’s VCR, rotting away into nothing, a place where winter is broken, appearing like raindrops – you name it – Ben Jorgensen has wrung every last drop of blood from an already well documented theme. ‘Dream To Make Believe’ is 11 songs of intense and over anxious power-pop. Not that it’s without its virtues. Jorgensen’s eerie guitar scales and delicate arpeggios provide a dark but tunefully swirly white noise and Anthony Di Ionno’s modest and understated bass allows room aplenty for all the flailing angsty charm of a vocal and lyrical approach steeped in lucidism and romanticism. The trouble for most folks will be that Mars Volta’s ‘De-Loused In The Comatorium’ said all this and said it better. Even Dredg managed to cover the board with 2002’s ‘El Cielo’ release. So if we’re talking about the definitive diary for the Somnabulistic and the insane, then ‘Dream To Make Believe’, whilst being a perfectly well crafted and delivered youth project, lacks the lofty, bonkers, widescreen cinemascape of its predecessors. The guitars are heavy and driving, yes, but they’re ultimately leading nowhere.
Having already toured with the likes of Thursday, Midtown, Hey Mercedes, Piebald, and numerous others, it’s unlikely that Armor For Sleep will not find sympathetic ears on that side of the Atlantic. And at the tender ages of 19, this debut album at least marks somekind of achievement, even if it’s eclipsed by last years premptive de-lousing from the Masters Mars.
Whatever happened to having dreams in which someone’s removed your trousers, that’s what I want to know?