Gengahr - A Dream Outside

Gengahr have an eye for the fantastical. Frontman Felix Bushe will swamp sentiment in metaphors, doing his absolute best to ditch reality. Across their first work, they cover all sorts - witches, phantoms, poltergeists and deep sea animals. ‘A Dream Outside’ threads together this free-flowing, outward thinking. And it’s easy to detach from the fact that across this debut, Gengahr might exist on another planet, but they have a habit of sounding soaringly, vitally real.

A record worthy of catapulting these talents into the stratosphere, it’s a first step that never compromises. John Victor’s scalding solos pierce the conscience, Bushe’s lyrics spitting venom at every turn. You can’t travel ten seconds without being confronted with another weapon in Gengahr’s arsenal, whether that’s ‘Heroine’’s electric shock of a climax or the magnetic pull of ‘Dark Star’. On the latter, the group swap their melodic knowhow for a clever balancing act. Empty space achieves more than the notes themselves, and the water-tight feel gives nods to Battles. It says a lot about Gengahr’s technical ability when an instrumental track almost steals the show.