Raskolnikov’s Dream – Uriel Review
I’ve had the chance to listen to Raskolnikov’s Dream’s album Uriel for some time (since March) so apologies to artist for taking so damn long on a review. The music is described as ethereal melodic electronica, perhaps mixing in Ratatat’s sort of dance electronica with Burial’s moody environment and you’ll have Raskolnikov’s Dream.
Uriel is pretty accurate in his own self-description and is quite a peaceful listening though with a sense of quality behind it. Not just setting an environment or a specific mood, Raskolnikov’s Dream does a pretty good job with some poppier synth beats without seeming like it’s anywhere near a dance album (though similarities to Ratatat are pretty evident). In a little more then an hour, Raskolnikov’s Dream shows off a pretty impressive range of sounds that he uses to create a solid record. I guess one of the knocks I’d have against the album despite it’s great effort is the repetitive nature of the album. It’s an album that feels like it’s really 62 minutes, or even more. A LOT of electronica albums suffer from just taking it too far and not cutting the head off where it needs to be. Case in point the second track, Hive (video below) would be a great 2 minute and 30 second track but instead it’s allowed to carry on too far making a mediocre 4 minute track.
Uriel’s contains some really solid ideas but you get the feeling that it would be a great 40 minute album and just needs to shed the excess 20 minutes in weight. Otherwise that seems to be Raskolnikov’s Dream only flaw. I see some potential for Raskolnikov’s Dream though the artist may remain unknown due to not making the most accessible material; I still respect the artist greatly no matter how low of a score I give.
Rating: 3.25 out of 5
I could definitely see Raskolnikov’s Dream making a great album, as it’s evident in parts of Uriel.
Hive by Raskolnikov’s Dream
Uriel by Raskolnikov’s Dream
Music video for Hive (I actually recognized the source material on a video I was watching on the Japanese Hornet which is a badass insect that I would not want to fuck with).
Tags: album
