Hailing from Germany, the "post-rock" sounding Daturah offer Reverie, as their first full-length (following a self-titled EP which they self-released in 2005 and Graveface released in 2006) since their inception in 2003. This album, at five tracks long still clocks in with just about an hour's worth of music. The band focus more heavily on the ambient aspects of their music creating extensive soundscapes that still adhere to many of the more conventional mannerisms of other "post-rock" outfits.
"Ghost Track" gradually immerses listeners into its menagerie of sound through swirling atmospheric noise, feedback, and spoken samples before exploding into a focused wave of guitars and pounding drums; it is an effective beginning to Reverie and just about immediately catches the listeners ear before the arrangement settles into a much more relaxed section, and this pattern continues as loud and soft sections duke it out for the audible space with Daturah weaving these together to create an instrumental conversation. The pulsing rhythmic sound that keeps time during the initial moments of "Hybrisma" underlie the soft swells of the guitars while another spoken word (though barely audible it becomes evident that it is in German) sample subtly makes an interesting impression even as the band picks up the tempo while tempering the loudness a bit more on this track. The sound on the song that the band achieves is quite good and enhances the listening experience (yes, it feels like an experience). The usage of other instrumentation, like the xylophone sounding plinks during "9" shows that Daturah is not afraid to go beyond their normal tools of the trade in order to expand on the ambient soundscapes which they create and at the same time do not overuse other elements like the samples (which are used effectively as more background effects or other instruments rather than a foci) at any one point. The slow progression of "Vertex" allows for the song to fully inhabit the aural space that Daturah makes, and the softer parts sound as if they are more fully developed (at least they sound stronger than on previous tracks) while the melodic qualities are also strong on here particularly during the loud passages. "Vertex" ends on a powerful note that brings the whole album together rather nicely in several distinct beats before fading out completely.
Daturah supplies an excellent debut album with Reverie, and while one can get lost in its expansive sounds and compositions, it provides just enough to draw one's attention and keep one going back to listening now and again; the truly surprising element of my own relationship with Reverie is that there was an immediate drawing together of my ears and the mostly instrumental sounds of Daturah, and the weird part about this affinity, is that I could not tell you what song or part of a song sealed the deal initially, but it is kind of a moot point. Daturah is not unique amongst other instrumental "post-rock" bands, so that leaves their songwriting and overall sound to possibly set them apart from the crowd. And while it is unsure if they do, the band craft a fine album in Reverie with a great deal of sonic goodness to pass through the speakers. If this type of music is your cup of tea, search Daturah's Reverie out and enjoy it because it is well worth a couple of spins.
