You won’t hear anything else like Curious Dreamers’ Hushabye Lullabye (Music from the Original TV Series) this year. The marriage of Giles Lamb and Sacha Kelly’s unique and diverse talents fuels a creative musical endeavor that sounds deceptively simple with an initial listen. Pay attention, and you’ll hear much more.
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It’s an audacious release for early 21st-century music. It has almost daring simplicity. The material’s childlike direction may seem to play to an exclusive audience. However, I believe it will have a satisfying effect on a cross-section of listeners. Uses for music such as this are varied. It could even make for relaxing listening after an especially stressful day. Curious Dreamers’ Hushabye Lullabye has specific intentions, it’s a consciously artistic work, but you can take a lot away from this work.
Songs such as the first track, “Goodnight Dreams”, help instantly ingratiate the album with listeners. I like that Lamb and Kelly are in tune enough to begin the release in the best possible way. Leading off with a number that establishes the project’s melodic character, inherent vulnerability, and instrumental profile helps win over listeners early. Later songs expand the album’s musical arsenal. “Chumble Bumble” interjects instrumental sounds absent from the opener without stepping too far afield of the project’s initial stylistic impulse. Moves like this throw a fresh coat of paint on many of these songs without varying the driving impulse behind the release.
The clever and even lively “Bathtime Ducks” is like other Hushabye Lullabye songs – an entry in a long-standing tradition. “Counting” songs such as this are multi-purposed, and the educational value of this track is apparent with a single listen. Strong imagery is another important part of this song’s success. The vibrant “Summer Sunshine” is one of the album’s zeniths. It’s a glowing musical interlude built on the same melodic excellence I hear fueling many of Hushabye Lullabye’s other tracks. No listener should underestimate how the vocal arrangements bolster these already excellent performances, and “Summer Sunshine”, in particular, benefits from outstanding singing.
Comparing “Autumn Leaves” and “Paper Boats” provides a sharp contrast. The former is unusually elegiac for this album, flirting with hints of melancholy, but there’s never a single moment on Hushabye Lullabye that veers into overt despair. It features the same scattered moments of flash heard in several other album tracks. On the other hand, “Paper Boats” is artsier without ever abandoning melody. It’s one of the album’s notable instances of Curious Dreamers tinkering with their template, and it pays off handsomely for listeners.
The second to last track, “Winter Snow”, and the finale, “Star Ballet”, have a similar dual effect. “Winter Snow” is the album’s final quasi-ballad, an impressionistic but deeply melodic workout exploring a handful of themes. The closer “Star Ballet” is more diffuse, gossamer, and untethered. Nevertheless, it casts a spell over me that helped bring the album to a thoughtful, even poetic, conclusion. The artistry underlying Curious Dreamers’ work is clear, and Hushabye Lullabye fully realizes its potential while promising even greater triumphs in the future.
Garth Thomas