Deadstar – In Between Dreams (2015)

Deadstar, a lone composer out of Bangalore, India released his long awaited first full-length, In Between Dreams. Technically stellar, Deadstar grips your intrigue with dynamic yet subdued guitar work, accompanied by sweeping symphonic movements. There is a positively thematic element to Deadstar’s music that transports you to a world permitting the impossible to be possible, where antipathy turns to hope.

Since 2012, Deadstar has built an extensive corpus of seven releases, each reflecting different levels of his growth as a musician, curiosity as an enthusiast, and imagination as a dreamer. In Between Dreams demonstrates Deadstar’s new ability to usher in complex instrumental groupings over expansive riffs. What continually draws me to Deadstar is his rare ability to write complexly mathy songs without pretension, making his music accessible to broader audiences.

On the flipside of Deadstar’s drive to innovate, there are a few songs that seem too far out of place on the record. Tracks five through seven ranges from bird noises over astral movements (‘In Line at the Waterpark’) to far reaching easy jazz (‘Sarah’). As I continue to be a Deadstar fan, I hope his next album or record does not give in to genre conservatism, and continues to reach for the stars. This multi-genre record is a step in a new direction for Deadstar, one of growth and new strides. Give In Between Dreams a go, it is as challenging as it is enchanting.