Album Review: Dreams That Feel Like Falling

Cowboy Dan are a Kiwi band out of Tāmaki Makaurau. 

Dreams That Feel Like Falling is Cowboys Dan’s third release, following 2017’s We Will Hesitate, When We Eventually Wake and 2021’s Sentimental Now That We’re Leaving. It is an 11-track album that they have described as intimate and direct, two adjectives that describe it incredibly well. The album takes you on a journey, it feels familiar yet completely unique. The record opens with Move A Feast, immediately you are drawn in with a great track with beautiful and warm guitar playing bringing an energy and setting the scene for what is to be a great record.

I really enjoyed track 3, Change – a punchy and well-arranged track with great lyrics and a real personal feel to it. The vocals are melodic and youthful; at times they remind me a bit of the Kooks. I think my personal favourite track on the record was the track 11 Memory, a beautiful song with a touch of melancholy and gentleness. It is the perfect finish to a beautiful album. 

You can tell these guys are very talented musicians, and well versed at what they do. The arrangements are well put together, and the record has been mixed beautifully. There is a touch of overdrive and distortion that brings the record together, giving it a fuzzy and warm vibe.

Their music has been described as “Jangle Rock” – I’d almost say a mix between pop and indie, and at times rock. It’s bright, clean, and very well put together.

Overall I think this is a great record, the title beautifully describes the vibe of it, at times beautiful, and moving tracks and at times balancing between being energetic and melancholic. The album feels effortless, like it’s always been sitting in Aotearoa’s music fabric. I would definitely recommend checking it out and giving it a listen.