There are not too many artists, groups or collaborations that can claim to have been around for as long as The Orb. For almost twenty years now, The Orb has been producing some of the most ground breaking, creative and exciting music to hit the airwaves. From the early days where A Huge Ever Growing Pulsating Brain That Rules From The Centre Of The Underworld smashed it to Little Fluffy Clouds and Once More of recent times, The Orb has never failed to disappoint. The Dream is certainly no different. This time, The Orb gives us some of the most sublime and moving electronica and ambience I have heard in a long time – this would even be one of the best albums I have heard from The Orb and one of the best so far this year. Each track moves from strength to strength and by the end of the CD, I was again in awe of The Orb’s continuing talent.

This is a unique journey of a wide variety of genres and sounds and just when you think you have gotten a feel for what the CD holds in store, The Orb throws us a curve ball and we get something completely different, but most definitely on par for quality. There are some small ambient interludes that last for as little as thirty seconds to as much as a minute, seen with the likes of Something Special, Phantom of the Ukraine and The Forest of Lyonesse. Around these are some awesome works that provide anything from uplifting, beautiful vibes on tracks like the album’s namesake The Dream to sometimes even something funky and dark with DDD (Dirty Disco Dub).

Powerful and spine tingling vocals from Japanese singer Aki Omori on Vuja De is one that reaches out and grabs you by the scruff of the neck, and even more so since it starts with such minimal beginnings to ascend to where it does. Lyrics again make an appearance on one of the more mainstream sounding electronica works called Something Special – this one really reminds me of fellow powerplayers Faithless. However these lyrics are slightly softer and ride on a wave of rolling bass. My personal favourite from the album.

At one point, we even get a slight reggae feel with Lost and Found to more deep, mesmerising sentiments on The Truth. High Noon is an interesting piece featuring shoot out sounds and on to haunting piano.
Finally, The Orb does throw in a few experimental ambient pieces and sounds that they have become renown for over the years on Katskills, Sleeping Tiger and especially so with Codes and Orbsonia. And I thought I was going to sink into the couch listening to Codes!

Once finished, what we have is a well crafted mix of a spread of awesome tracks that come together effortlessly. The blend of sounds from one end of the spectrum to the other is astounding, and puts on display many of The Orb’s influences and emotions in the creation of this album. Most certainly a contender for one of the best CDs of the year. Picture perfect!