Caught in the Carousel

Two Loons for Tea

Nine Lucid Dreams
Sarathan Records

Nine Lucid Dreams is a trippy brew of alternative rock, trip hop, and ambient pop. It's a shimmering, exotic world—seductive, playful, and haunting. It's the third CD from Two Loons for Tea, a Seattle-based duo (Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer) with a sound like a jazzy, adventurous Cowboy Junkies or Massive Attack dropped down the rabbit hole.

The duo assembled a long list of guest musicians to back them on Nine Lucid Dreams including Matt Chamberlain (Pearl Jam), Patrick Warren (Michael Penn), and Eyvind Kay (John Zorn). Together, they merge improvisational lyrics with complex, layered arrangements to create an album of distinctive, exotic story-songs. Scott and Kochmer know their craft, building songs like good storytellers—driving tension with a sustained note, for example, or a perfectly timed pause—subtle, electrifying touches that augment this collection.

Scott has a great voice, channeling the playful funkiness of Rickie Lee Jones and the sharp candor of Michelle Shocked. Distinctive and hypnotic, she draws you into the hazy boundary between myth and memory. Kochmer, who sings one track ("Consuela"), otherwise shines on guitar, bass, keyboards, and arrangements. Their partnership is as complementary as chocolate and sex.

Standout tracks include the radio-ready "Monkey," "Strongest Man In The World," and "Marietta," but the whole CD is strong, from the haunting "Eyebrows Are Nature's Makeup" and the hallucinatory "Consuela" to the Alice in Wonderland-inspired "Stand On Your Head." Nine Lucid Dreams invites you to dance through the looking glass into a world of mermaids, circuses, and buttery velvet afternoons. A wonderful escape from reality.

— Lyn Dunagan