After reuniting in 2010, Gabriel & Dresden finally released their long awaited second album, The Only Road, in 2017 on Above & Beyond's Anjunabeats label. The Only Road was easily one of my favorite electronic releases of 2017, leaving fans of the duo hoping it wouldn't be quite so long before album three arrived. Thankfully that album arrived in early 2020.
Remedy, released in January, hooked me immediately and never let go, an album I revisited often throughout the year. As on The Only Road, most of the tracks here feature vocalists. Since there is no need to fix something that isn't broken, it's no surprise that Brittany O'Neal, who performs as Sub Teal, returns to provide lead vocals on six of the album's ten tracks. She worked with the duo on four songs off the previous album and the increased collaboration is welcomed, she is the perfect vocal compliment to their music. Two other tracks feature vocals, with Centre handling the duties on "Remember" while Jan Burton returns to collaborate on the fantastic and dramatic "Keep On Holding". Gabriel & Dresden take the spotlight on the album's remaining two tracks, the instrumentals "Luna" and "Twelve".
As on The Only Road, the songs on Remedy that feature Sub Teal are on a deeper level lyrically than much of what you come across in vocal electronic music. There is a melancholy to album opener "No One's To Blame", an exploration of the aftermath of a relationship. "Knowing death is our greatest fear" she sings on the astounding "Falling Forward" which is followed by the darker vibe of "All I've Got", a killer one-two punch on an album full of knockouts. On "Will I Change", Sub Teal asks the question, "Will I change before it's too late?" while Gabriel & Dresden take you on an emotional roller coaster of production. The first minute of the song is carried by a thumping dance beat which dissipates into a somber piano ballad before building back into an uplifting dance track.
I most often see the duo's music referred to as progressive trance, and Gabriel & Dresden recently took umbrage with the trance label attached to their music on Twitter. This is why I personally hate having to label every form of music out there, especially in the electronic genre. Remedy is euphoric, it is emotional, it is beautifully produced and performed. Sure, while there are elements of progressive trance, there are also pop song structures. Instead of attaching a label to it that the artists dislike, let's just call it what it really is. Great electronic dance music. Period. Remedy is my favorite album of 2020.
Favorite tracks: "All I've Got", "Falling Forward", "No One's To Blame", "Coming On Strong"
Remedy was released January 17th, 2020 on the Anjunabeats label.
Official Website of Gabriel & Dresden
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