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Nov 15, 2021 Web Exclusive By Andy Von Pip

Best known for his work as co-founder of The Black Ryder alongside Aimee Nash, and more latterly as a key member of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s live setup, multi-instrumentalist Scott Von Ryper’s debut solo album, Dream State Treasure, is an atmospheric, cinematic, and hugely rewarding affair. It’s an album that takes the listener on an immersive and disorientating sonic trip through a variety of soundscapes and textures, whilst thematically the album feels like a journey out of the heart of darkness towards something slightly more redemptive.

Von Ryper began work on the album in 2018, but with the pandemic essentially shutting down all touring it gave him the space and time to complete the album. He explains: “I knew that this was my opportunity to really finish the album, so I set a date for myself and pretty much stuck to it. I knew that if I didn’t do it now, I’d lose faith in my ability to do it at all.”

The album opens with the driving “Over and Over,” illuminated by glittering guitar flourishes with Von Ryper’s voice far higher in the mix then say the “rhinestone drone” of a Black Ryder track. “Pulse” combines layered acoustic guitars with distortion and doesn’t sound a million miles away from a lost Black Rebel Motorcycle Club classic. “Getting On Home” has a dusty gospel rock vibe, whilst the elegantly beautiful “The Devil’s Son” has hints of The National at their finest. There is certainly more than a hint of creeping menace that runs throughout the album and a blurring of the line between reality and hypnagogic hallucinations, which lend an otherworldly quality to proceedings. At the very heart of the album lies Von Ryper’s musical dexterity, his meticulous attention to detail and his ear for the subtly dark and the dramatic, which all combine to make Dream State Treasure such a hauntingly beautiful work of art. (www.scottvonryper.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10