The coming of rage existential gospel of "Dream Patterns", by Los Angeles born and raised independent singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Ian the Idiot, is a masterwork that easily pierces my heart and brain. It somehow feels both joyful and exquisitely sad while also feeling wonderfully timeless. The syncopated rhythms, the folk rock organics merged with blues rock and gospel (love the D / C#/ B refrain) that, to me, feels drawn from the halcyon days of folk rock takes my ever so frazzled head to Van Morrison's "Everyone" from his impeccable 1970 Moondance album while maybe cross pollinated with contemporary descendants of Morrison (whether they know it or not) like Mt Joy and Ray LaMontagne. I am absolutely loving the lyrics and the soulful pain that I feel within Ian the Idiot's vocal performance that has so much emotional weight. I also love the way the backing vocals on the chorus act as a sort of artfully emotional cudgel that in combination with the stirring churchy organ played by Michael Stevenson makes this feel as much as a bloodletting session as it does a protest march. Now might be a time to tip my hat to all the other musicians that contributed to this track like Evan Rasch on electric guitar, Gina Segall on bass, Gil Young on drums, Spencer Dolan on backing vox (Ian the Idiot on lead vox and acoustic guitar).
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
Ian the Idiot on "Dream Patterns":
[Recorded live in Los Angeles with a group of my favorite musicians and friends in the wake of the LA wildfires, this song is an attempt to capture a healthy dose of that hazy 21st century paranoia.
"Dream Patterns" is about what its name suggest: recurring, fragmented imagery, usually Apocalyptic in nature, scattered across the dreams and nightmares I've hallucinated over the past two years. I believe these images emerge out of the subconscious environments of what are often classified as "stress dreams." My body and mind are, unconsciously or otherwise, clenching, bracing for impact. A cataclysmic event is coming, either in my personal life or in the grander opera. The song highlights a number of these images while attempting to trace their roots back to their origins -- what are these stress dreams "about," anyway? My guesses could be a number of things. I struggle with a fairly oppressive health anxiety, as well as a few health problems generally. The LA Wildfires decimated the neighborhoods of a number of my friends. The world is, of course, turning far too fast, and our Structures of Power (the old Capital T "They," or the old Capital M "Man,") consistently emerge as insidious entities looking to eat all of our collective souls. I suppose the song is mostly just about anxiety. But I hope the propulsive energy of our performance is less a moody reflection and more an actionable Yawp.
A huge debt is owed to Bob Dylan. It's all about propulsive lyrics and energetic performance. Classic Folk Rock, with a good amount of indie production.]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.facebook.com/iantheidiot
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2N5JTk7q4HIiUTK5OStC15
https://iantheidiot.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/ian_theidiot/
I'm a Los Angeles-born-and-raised independent artist, and I've been writing and recording songs DIY for over 15 years, starting as a kid in my dad's garage (he's a guitar teacher and musician himself). I've played in a number of bands around the city's "indie circuit," including the bands Pkwy, Small Forward, Yucky Bangs, Frank Pellegrino, Blu Wilson, and Loosies. I currently live in Hawthorne, CA (hometown of my favorite band of all time, The Beach Boys) with my wife and two kids, working a day job in some corporation somewhere.
Ian the Idiot, art rock, indie rock, alt pop, indie pop, beautiful melancholia, ""Dream Patterns", singer songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, diy producer, Los Angeles,
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