Perhaps it was a bad idea to put on the album “Dreamweaver” by Galen Tipton & Junior Astronaut while I was working. Within moments, my eyes began to feel as if they were being dragged into the comforting belly of the earth, and my motivation to reply to emails and chase leads quickly evaporated. Through nine tracks of lush instrumental world-building, the duo assemble soothing tones and winningly short melodic phrases with delicacy and precision. I’m not usually one to jump to conclusions, but with Junior Astronaut being the stage name of Nathan Tipton, this collaboration with Galen Tipton seems like a family affair, or else just a nominative coincidence. Either way, the pair speak a cohesive language and the sense of taste for the understated never lets up. 

Opening track, “Emerald Moon”, sees pitter-patters of sounds play around evolving tones that auditorily resemble a pond teeming with nature and life. Raindrops, singing lizards, haphazard insects whirling about, it’s all here in sonic form, as well as in visual form via the wonderfully cosy and child-like cover art. Is this album a paganistic celebration of the earth’s capacity to inspire reflection, dreaming, and serenity? Songs like “Sleepy Cowboy”, with its aquatic textures and blooming synths, and the near nine-minute title-track would make it appear so. The Tiptons never bring their compositions to places of harshness or ugliness; they are far too generous for that. Throughout the entire album, there is a feeling these artists are working for you, trying to make you feel as calm and inwardly glowing as possible. “window cat” does feature some more persistent guitar strikes, and somewhat crunchier atmospherics, but it’s never less than soothing listening. “Sidewheel Progression” closes the album with the same theme and is a testament to the project’s ambitious minimalism. It’s counterintuitive to say that minimal and economical music requires more work or artistic persistence than its maximalist counterparts, but simplicity is hard to find and even harder to find just the right level of embellishment without screwing up the works. 

While there is a one-note aspect to this collection, the note the pair happen upon is perennially gorgeous, warmly inviting, and skillfully executed. But, for sure, this is a listening experience built more for winding down than for motivation; a musical sleeping pill that inspires colourful hallucinations of the naturalistic world as you escape from it. 

★★★★