Album of the Month: January 2022

The start of a new year generally brings a brief dry spell of engaging music, and January 2022 was no different. Many of the month’s new projects were disappointing, though some artists, like The Weeknd, undoubtedly delivered some of the best music of their careers; Earl Sweatshirt perfected his brand of introspective abstract hip-hop on SICK!, and FKA twigs released CAPRISONGS, an excellent mixtape of rhythmic alt-R&B tracks. However, the month’s most exciting release was not one of these high-profile releases, but an atmospheric neoclassical new-age album released anonymously on New Year’s Day – Rough and Beautiful Place by Mydreamfever.

Rough and Beautiful Place is the first project under the name Mydreamfever, though it is not this artist’s first album; some may recognize Mydreamfever better as Parannoul, who made waves in the underground shoegaze community last year with the albums To See the Next Part of the Dream and Downfall of the Neon Youth. No one knows who Mydreamfever/Parannoul is, but he continues to consistently release incredible projects on his Bandcamp page, and Rough and Beautiful Place, despite being in an entirely different style, lives up to the high standards set by this artist’s other projects.

Rough and Beautiful Place is entirely instrumental, meaning that it features no vocals or lyrics throughout its runtime. While this can make it hard to attribute meaning to the music, the passion felt through Mydreamfever’s virtuosic piano performance is visceral, especially on the track “Moment is Now,” where the bouncy chord progression is paired with a violin and some light percussion to create a moving atmosphere. Much of the album is centered around the piano, although there are instances of a harp, guitar, and other stringed instruments throughout. This instrumental variety allows the album to remain engaging throughout its entire near-one-hour length.

Asides from traditional instruments, Mydreamfever also utilizes field recordings to enhance the atmosphere on Rough and Beautiful Place. These uses are sometimes subtle, like on “Circulation,” where crickets quietly buzz in the background of a piano-guitar duet. However, their most impressive uses come when the field recordings are placed at the center of attention. On the album’s highlight, “Spirit of Love,” a piano motif is progressively built to a crescendo over twelve minutes, while the sounds of children laughing and birds chirping play. While this track could be interpreted as overly sentimental, it’s an atmosphere that feels wholly genuine. It’s nice to hear music that is entirely authentic in a world where irony and sarcasm are the norms.Rough and Beautiful Place is a relatively simple album. There’s no overarching concept or theme and there are no complex lyrics to dissect. The compositions themselves are not even incredibly technical. There’s only music. But it’s music that is imbued with overwhelming beauty and a sense of genuine hope for the world. It’s refreshing to hear such clear optimism at a time filled with darkness and struggle. Rough and Beautiful Place is a fountain of eternal hope.