‘Behold, This Dreamer!’ provides as many ups, downs, and daydreaming in-betweens as any inspiring film might.
2012, Self-Released
7.5 / 10.0
I enjoy reading an album’s press release. Gone are the days of ‘this is rock’, ‘this is pop’ or ‘this is shit’. Brooklyn’s Thieving Irons have created an album that I’ve been informed is ‘blissed out alt-country’ – and to be fair, that sounds about right. Formerly of Pela (in which remaining members now form We Are Augustines), Nate Martinez now records under Thieving Irons, and his is second Thieving Irons release is a record of notice. Behold, This Dreamer!, taken from the name of William De La Mare’s book that Martinez stumbled upon in a Chicago bookstore (and subsequently took inspiration from) provides 80′s heartbreak and the modern intelligence of contemporaries The Temper Trap. Music for thought, yet as the album title suggests, it’s also good music to drift off with. Despite immediately purchasing the book, Martinez never actually read it – only using the cover page topics of sleep, dreams, love and nightmares as a compass.
That’s not to say Thieving Irons have created elevator music. The album isn’t a slow burner either. Offering a nuanced study in perspective, album opener, “End of September”, followed by standout track “So Long” offer enlightening yet melancholic thoughts of “where the hell is my life headed?” No offense intended to Thieving Irons, but the record could be easily infused into a low budget indie flick and would sit well. Behold, This Dreamer! provides as many ups, downs, and daydreaming in-betweens as any inspiring film might, and not only is it well written, it’s also got me ready for a gap year trip to India to reevaluate my life.
The album doesn’t so much lose its way towards the halfway point but falls into its own creation of generic; yet, a stand out generic nonetheless. However, track eight pulls away from the records melancholic slumber and provides the dreamer an awakening slap across the face with another stand out track in “Poison”, switching the album’s dream-like sequence with a Death in Vegas-esque hazy trip that shows the wider canvass of inspiration that Thieving Irons are using. I might buy that fucking book. Listening to Behold, This Dreamer! can’t help but instill a thought provoking look at your life, and as Martinez put so well in his thoughts on the album, “This Dreamer! isn’t about tragedy, or about losing the girl, or small town drama. This is the story about making it out of that town, seeing the wide-open road and asking yourself, what’s next? Where do I want to go? Who do I want to be?”
Purchase: Thieving Irons – Behold, This Dreamer!
