A collaborative album that sounds equally influenced by each of its contributors,
Team Dreams is the product of a song-a-month effort by the trio of
Sin Fang (
Sindri Már Sigfússon),
Sóley (
Sóley Stefánsdóttir), and
Múm's
Örvar Smárason. All members of the Reykjavik indie music scene, they committed to spending three days per month over the course of a year to write and record a 12-song album together. Having just made a record where some of the songs were a couple years old by the time of its release, it was
Sigfússon who offered up the idea with an eye to a quicker turnaround time, and with others to answer to. The results sound neither rushed nor rote, with elegantly complex electric-acoustic arrangements, a fair share of melodic infectiousness, and a level of experimentalism that one may expect based on their individual projects. The album also has a consistent tone that's equal parts yearning and affection. That effect is ratcheted up by
Sin Fang's R&B-infused vocals on tracks like "Slowly" and "The Sun Will Go Out," and the trio turns up the beats on selections such as the sashaying "Tennis" and anthemic "Black Screen." In contrast, the delicate love duet "Citrus Light" offers a mix of acoustic guitar and shimmering synths, and the more minimalist "Love Will Leave You Cold" opens with a single piano line before building atmosphere under the repeated title phrase. They all belong on the same album, though, tied together by the tone, a dreamy sound design, and the singers' gentle voices, as well as a certain compositional quality. If relatively tight, self-imposed deadlines can result in music that sounds so carefully considered, maybe more songwriters out there should give them a try. ~ Marcy Donelson