The second half of the debut double disc release, Sleepless/Dreamless, this album takes a journey deeper into the rock side of Post Trauma. Darker, louder, heavier and more self-indulgent, Dreamless takes the listener on a true rock adventure.
Guitarist/Singer Billy Ulrich and keyboardist Kenny Ulrich are brothers. Joey Gnoffo the drummer, was a friend of the family, and in 2010 when the band was forming, everything just made sense. That’s how Post Trauma have accomplished so much in a relatively short time: A double album, a collaborative EP, a series of music videos, television performances, Jagermeister sponsorship and over 200 live concerts.
From Sleepless to Dreamless, the band move from Country-Rock to Gritty Hard Rock. Their musical diversity stems from the tastes each member brings. Kenny is a film soundtrack composer, and supplies the huge sound of symphonies. Joey is a pure Rock drummer; pulling inspiration from the Hard Rock greats of the 90’s and today, while Billy is a Rock/Metal guitarist and a Country lyricist.
Classic rock is a much abused term, but if ever a recent album deserved the title, it’s this one. Strong melodies, driving rhythms, catchy riffs, crisp lyrics and a range of grooves from slow ballads to catchy up-tempo rockers. Dreamless the group’s second part of their double album, Post Trauma’s finest work to date; that in itself is no small feat, as their previous efforts were excellent in their own right.
Bold and brash, Dreamless announces itself, with unmistakable bombast. It is a truly remarkable record, complete with both heavy instrumentation and a well-developed concept. All the songs here revolve around Billy Ulrich’s crazy guitar and vocals. Listening to this, it’s unbelievable this is coming out alongside some of the banal computerized bull-crap out there. There is no industrialized guitar, no electronic drums, and no heavy reverb. It almost feels like the band is doing rehearsals right next to you.
I can’t really compare this album to anything out, currently- Post Trauma don’t take themselves too seriously, so their album has this live and experimental feel to it. Their amazingly dense music, is in fact, actually surprisingly simple. It’s a case of playing all the right things so that the listener is not forced to waste time and weed out the superfluous stuff. It’s beauty in simplicity at its finest, and is ever-present in the Post Trauma sound; especially on Dreamless.
In a world of paint by number songs, manufactured for the sheep, who continue to buy the garbage that the music industry keeps pumping, few bands manage to escape the fold of being manipulated into making music for the industry. Post Trauma are one of the few bands who are able to craft songs that make you want to bang your head but also allow you to sit back and enjoy the ride. So the mood is accommodating no matter what you feel like doing.
Hopefully the youth will take note of this and the word will spread that this is a band that deserves to be noticed. If you are looking for true unpretentious rock n’ roll music, in this wasteland of junk, pumped on your local radio station. The 9 rock tracks contained on Dreamless are what you have been asking for. “The Kiss”, “The Sky” and “Dream On” (an Aerosmith cover) is the best three-in-row songs I’ve heard on any album of late. In fact I will be so bold as to say that “The Sky” and “The Kiss” are probably the best pieces of work Post Trauma have done to date! And as much as I loved the country rock of Sleepless, I think these two songs are where Post Trauma should be heading in future.
Putting aside the methods and qualities involved, Dreamless absolutely rocks. It’s Post Trauma’s playful quality, however, which ultimately endears me to the band. Anything that recalls an era in which music was about fun and expression, as opposed to image and corporate bucks, makes my ears smile. Dreamless is a sincere rock n’ roll album, and is quite a bright spot in today’s dismal hard rock era.
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