With their second album as Raze The Maze, former MoeTar musical partners Moorea Dickason and Tarik Ragab raise their game on all fronts. 7am Dream squeezes 10 songs into 31 minutes. The duo plant their feet in progressive pop land; the mood is upbeat, the sound is snappy, yet the catchy hooks are carried on odd time signatures. The production is a noticeable advancement from their self-titled 2019 release, feeling warmer and more cohesive, with rich multi-layered harmonies. Dickason’s vocal scoops in the title track and By Design recall the style of Kate Bush or XTC’s Andy Partridge, while Letters From The Parking Lot spits out frantic guitar licks that suggest the influence of Zappa. Persistence is all tumbling melodic runs, played by Paul Hanson on bassoon, and stuttering syncopated beats from drummer Terry Branam that intertwine to create a polyrhythmic puzzle. It’s densely packed stuff, where there’s always a lot happening in the arrangements even when Ragab’s melodies could fit in a pop song. The brisk running time is deceptive: 7am Dream is full to the brim with ideas to tickle the cerebrum. From: https://www.pressreader.com/uk/prog/20221125/283107073013057?srsltid=AfmBOooCpWoWfV1wR00asZlUzbOcQvkhHKr3DuN1WqcpRPfm6ndSHlbe
