Suppose you want to write the perfect love letter that will lead a new flame to a new flame that will leave him or her in a state of absolute breathlessness or perhaps you plan to make a long car trip to rekindle a failing relationship.
In both these situations, it might be helpful to have a copy of Carey Ott's debut "Lucid Dream" on hand. You may even feel tempted to steal a few quaint lines from Ott's lovesick ballads for your own flattering attempt.
The music on the album reflects its title as it is based heavily around an acoustic guitar with a lightly toned electric guitar floating melodically above. However this is not your life altering epiphany of a dream but rather your run-of-the-mill everyday dream, which while enjoyable, is hardly worth delving into too deeply.
The chord patterns bear a slight resemblance to something the boys from Everclear would write and Carey Ott can not help but bust out into a sing along burst of generic sugariness in every chorus.
Carey Ott's vocals are the real distinguishing factor on the album. He often employs a romantic falsetto that sounds like a cross between Thom Yorke and Tom Petty.
Poor Ott has a hard time getting through any of the songs on the album without mentioning "love." What is more, he more often sings of love lost rather than gained, which tends to wear thin after a while. As hard as it is to believe, there is a world that exists outside of romantic love, but Carey wants nothing of it.
At least Ott finds some time to come down from the clouds as he sings later in the album, "Don't be too hard on yourself/ Don't look too far ahead/ Don't be alarmed or appalled when you fall/ It's only love."
Light and dark is another motif used heavy-handedly on "Lucid Dreams," generally to describe the singer's various moods, which range from slightly sad to slightly sad but halfway hopeful.
Despite being an all around radio safe album of seemingly duplicated tracks, a few stand out on theirre own. "Daylight" includes interesting percussion tracks incorporating weird static bleeps as part of the backing beat. On "Shelf Life," Ott uses several vocal takes of his soothing vocal for a relaxed effect as he sings, "All of the great ones asleep with the warm guns/ Love is a dog bite/ You're losing your shelf life." The following track "Virginia" is a slow number that one would expect to hear in a smoky bar room setting. Once again Ott's displays his soothing vocal ability as he hums a backing track accompanied by his crooning, "I'm feeling so outside."
Carey Ott's first outing is a light-hearted affair full of songs for the lovelorn. The lyrical content will almost instantly be relatable by everyone as most have experienced the familiar "to have loved and lost scenario" while the music gently underscores Ott's unique vocal style.
This is music that does not force you to think too hard, composed merely to be enjoyed at surface level. If you are a hopeless romantic at heart, Carey Ott has custom-crafted this with you and millions of others in mind.
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