Title: Dreamland
Artist: Coin
Release Date: February 21, 2020
Rating: ★★★★☆
Standout Tracks: Crash My Car, Valentine, Let It All Out (10:05)
If there’s only one feeling Coin managed capture in their third album, Dreamland, it’s romanticism– a theme that was present in both of the band’s previous two albums, but really took the driver’s seat in 2020. Every song on Dreamland is heartfelt in its own regard, and the way they melt right into each other is nothing short of mesmerizing.
Because of the three year gap that resides between the release of Dreamland and Coin’s sophomore album, How Will You Know If You Never Try, the band began to incorporate unreleased songs from Dreamland into their live shows around two years ago, and even released seven of the fourteen tracks before the album’s official release. One could argue that there was really only half of a record left to hear– seven tracks are a bit less exciting than fourteen on release day– but despite their small numbers, the newest songs grab you by the collar and pull you straight into the fantasy that is Dreamland.
The album is perfectly titled. Every song is smooth and dreamy, both in sound and lyrics.
One song that stands out for me personally is “Youuu”. If you’ve spoken to me or checked any one of my social media in the past three months, you’ve definitely heard about it already. “Youuu” captures heartbreak in its essence, and the first time I heard it (live at Newport Music Hall in February, 2018), I instantly fell in love. I sang it in the shower; I watched my videos of the performance over and over again, waiting in agony for the studio version to finally be released. And almost two years later, lead vocalist Chase Lawrence finally responded to my tweet announcing the release date for my favorite song.
Lawrence’s ability to idealize with his lyrics is something I’ve always admired and probably one of the reasons I feel so drawn to his music. Songs like “Youuu” and “Never Change” are almost Shakespearian in regards to dramatization. They’re passionate, and as a result you can feel every emotion put into the chords.
Each track has a story behind it, and if you search Lawrence’s twitter hard enough, you can find it. My personal favorite comes from the song “Let It All Out (10:05)”, in which the vocals were done in one take, and the microphone cut out on the lyric “Jesus, are you listening?”. It apparently meant a lot to Lawrence. As they’re no strangers to symbolism, the band chose to use the raw take.
hmm y’all don’t seem to understand that the mic cable literally cut out when I said “jesus are you listen-“
— chase (@chase_lawrence) November 17, 2019
Holistically, the album is dynamic and saturated. A few of the instrumental interludes feel unnecessary, and I’d prefer to see more lyrical content because that seems to be one of the band’s strongest suits, but overall I enjoy it. In my mind, I can clearly picture which songs I’m going to spend 2020 dancing to and which ones I’ll be crying to. Some of them, both.
Listen to Dreamland wherever music can be streamed or purchased. Coin will kickoff their national Dreamland Tour with special guest Sure Sure this March. Buy tickets here. I promise you won’t regret it.