Double albums aren’t made that often anymore, which is a bit of a shame. I’ve always been a fan of them and grew up on records like The White Album or Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness. So I was genuinely happy to get my hands on a double album by Mikey Maramag, who records under the name Blackbird Blackbird. The record spans 22 tracks, which is quite a hefty amount, but many of the songs hover just over the two-minute mark. As a result, the album doesn’t even reach an hour in length, meaning it won’t scare off less patient listeners.
What immediately grabs you in the very first seconds is the excellent indie guitar intro of Awake but So Asleep. It overflows with ideas and the sound is truly delicate. Production is one of the album’s biggest strengths, and I especially enjoyed the hazy, veiled vocals throughout.
The second track slows things down and brings a more cinematic, melancholic mood that suits Blackbird Blackbird perfectly. Instrumentally, it’s once again very skillful bedroom pop with a pleasant lo-fi vocal presence. So far I’ve mainly praised the production, but in terms of songwriting ideas this is also a strong record – whether we’re talking about the instrumental work or the effortless, unobtrusive vocal melodies that subtly enhance the overall atmosphere.
Track three, Driving Down the I5, comes as a surprise, suddenly jumping from the indie realm into a purely electropop aesthetic, evoking the more ballad-leaning songs of The Weeknd. Even in this mode, Blackbird Blackbird sounds confident and convincing.
The fourth track, Time Again, reminded me with its playfulness, energy, and passion of Prince – which also fits with the album’s genre-spanning versatility and openness. Among my highlights from the first disc is The Darkness of the Day, a more guitar-driven track that combines the best elements of the opening songs: catchiness, rawness, and an indie rock-pop vibe with strong hit potential.
Don’t Wait and On & On carry a distinctly Prince-like sensual energy. From the first disc, I’d also single out Lost Without U and Blueshift, which rank among the most electronic and dance-oriented tracks. Still, my listener’s heart ultimately belonged to the Bon Iver-esque, somber closing track Sunset, which once again excels in both mood and production.
With the second disc, we return to a more indie-leaning atmosphere. The title Clementine inevitably made me think of the song of the same name by my favorite songwriter Elliott Smith – not that Blackbird Blackbird sounds particularly similar, but the emotional tone often does. Clementine eventually shifts into a more electropop-oriented track reminiscent of M83.
The second disc largely rides an electropop wave, but In a Dream truly captivated me with its beautiful guitar sound and heavily effected vocals, perfectly placed in the mix. For some reason, it suddenly transported me back to a time when I spent several weeks living in Tokyo, riding local trains, listening to music, and watching the cityscape flow by.
The title track Dreamstuck evokes a more lo-fi, slightly experimental take on Tame Impala – instrumentally addictive and vocally playful. A particularly pleasant surprise was the following Starlite Design, which brings guitars back into focus. Maramag truly excels here; the track carries subtle post-rock undertones and reminded me of my favorite band toe. At the same time, it feels like a forgotten scene from an early-2000s teen TV series – and it doesn’t matter at all that it’s purely instrumental.
The closing track Downfall Down features a deeper vocal that isn’t buried under effects this time, making for a welcome change at the very end. With its seriousness balanced by lightness, it immediately reminded me of one of my long-time favorites, Jens Lekman.
Dreamstuck is a remarkably cohesive and confident double album that balances indie, electropop, and lo-fi sensibilities with ease. Thanks to its concise song lengths, strong production, and wide emotional range, it never feels overwhelming and rewards attentive listening with rich atmospheres, genre fluidity, and genuine songwriting depth.
This album was discovered via Submit Hub
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