Combing all styles previously found in their first three albums Hills End, For Now, and The Glow, as well as their recently released EP I Love You Unconditionally, Sure Am Going to Miss You, on their fourth release How Many Dreams?, the Australian outfit DMA’s have found the perfect balance between their beloved guitar riffs seen on their debut and the electric rhythms found on their third album release.
The band, formed in Sydney, 2012, surely haven’t forgotten their roots with the release of their highly anticipated fourth album. Indeed, the third single (already released to the public), ‘Olympia’, is the perfect example of the band building on their sound. With an anthem like guitar lead created by Matt Mason, as well as Jai Alai, which includes some Dire Straits inspired lead guitar, evident on earlier work ‘Feels Like 37’, as well as recently released ‘Viol’.
The infectious guitar riff, played by Mason, at the front of the mix pierces through at the start of the track – a decision partially made by producer Stuart Price, who notably worked with Everything Everything on their album Get To Heaven, and Rich Costey, who produced Sigur Ros’ Kveikur; both albums of which showed the band move out of their comfort zone, especially the latter bringing a surprising rock sound to the band.
However, track nine is where we see the band at the peak of their powers. The track ‘Get Ravey’, which songwriter Johnny Took via Twitter said “This is the best Song I’ve ever written (According to Hayley)”.
It most certainly has all the hallmarks of the quintessential DMA’s track, which promises to be a fan favourite for live performances, including an incredibly catchy and goosebump enduring chorus as O’Dell sings in his falsetto, “satellite you’ve opened up my eyes”, backed with genius guitar riffs.
Lead single ‘I Don’t Need To Hide’ and album finale ‘De Carle’ are other examples of exhilarating moments which mirror the final track on The Glow, ‘Cobracaine’ which consisted of a highly dynamic electronic sound that they have expanded on.
Part of DMA’s forever evolving sound saw them introduce strings in How Many Dreams?, from the tracks ‘Dear Future’ and ‘Forever’, with the latter embracing a ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’-esque intro, as well as being another example of O’Dell’s vocals ageing like fine wine.
For an album with many highpoints, the tenth track ‘21 Year Vacancy’ which, despite its meaningful lyrical use, falls fairly flat in comparison to the other peaks of highly memorable moments within the album.
This album however holds incredibly strong amongst their previous three releases, from the title track which sets the tone for the rest of the album and shows them blending both the styles of The Glow and first two albums all the way to the final track which promises to cause chaos in the mosh pits in their UK tour.
DMA’s fourth studio album How Many Dreams? will be released 31st March 2023 and is available for pre-order here: https://dmasdmas.com
Rating: 8/10