Fever Dream

The music of Fever Dream (which celebrates the release of this CD on Saturday, March 17, at Cricket on the Hill, with Yerkish and Amphibious Jones) could hardly be more straightforward. But the simplicity of its sound is both an asset and a limitation.

The key elements here are Robin Lucas's guitar -- its buzzy growl drives "J'oublie" -- and Ezana Negash's vocals, which recall the work of art-rock classicists when he reaches for high notes of the sort that don't succumb to "Gravity." Trouble is, the production pushes Negash so far to the front of the mix that he seems at a remove from Lucas and rhythm-sectioners Chris Boyers and Madison Lucas -- and this blend seldom varies. Although "Skin Flick" works okay on its own, the track's aural similarity to others on the disc hampers its effectiveness.

By no means is this a bad Dream. But it's only occasionally capable of sparking a fever.