Drem Beb

The chorus to the third track off Drem Beb, 'IKND', goes like so: "I keep not dying/ Every moment I keep not dying."  I think that's a sentiment that we can all relate to. Although we may only be reminded of this fact in moments of dissociative extremity. And that is David Moose Adamson(DMA)'s sound all over: pop strains of the American tradition in extremis.    The first track off of Drem Beb is a space-age homage to the cruising anthem. In the grand tradition of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" and Bon Jovi's "Ol' 55," DMA's "Riding Holiday," kicks off the album like the alien-autistic-stepchild of these aforementioned tracks.    This from a man whose musical output has largely been an epic sequence of surrealist pastiche. See his bizarre take on folk music in Scientific Cricket, his cosmic paean to Michael Jackson in Ropechain etc.    By comparison, to Jookabox's final record, "The Eyes of the Fly", Drem Beb sounds focused, minimalist, intense, relentless. It gets expansive-see the chorals on the title track-but it stays within a tightly regimented bandwidth. Although some of the paranoid, hive-mind sound carries over, especially on tracks like a 'Hod and Boe,' which sounds rather like its being sung by a nest of wasps.    DMA (as Jookabox) famously began his career as a one-man-band in the grand old tradition of the 'one-man-band' (re: man with a bass-drum on his back and a monkey clapping symbols, collecting change from the crowd etc.). In this album, to some extent, he's returning to his roots. Although we'll miss the spectacle of Jookabox performing live, this studio album gives us a more meditative, and ultimately deeper sound. We can look forward to see Moose dancing around solo on a stage, but this album is, perhaps, best enjoyed in a sensory deprivation chamber, playing through a pair of earbuds.    According to Adamson, the album is about, "Dreams, babes, and Dream Bebs." He put the tracks together in a basement, shortly after the sudden dissolution of Jookabox. "A lot of musical information was taken from dreams and looped," says Adamson. He concludes, "Most of the lyrics are jokes, dreams, or sweet feelings about [my] babe. Maybe just listen to it, you child."