Salem, Oregon was home turf for this excellent psychedelic rock quintet. New Dawn's album is eerie, dreamy and atmospheric. It is a charming piece of work that reveals its beauty after repeated listens. Pounding bass and fuzz guitar back up softly melodic vocals whilst the bands songs are filled with a sense of dreamy despair. There's also the odd strange sound effect. The album is also full of 'acid' organ sounds but also features some nice soft rock ballads.
The opening cut 'New Dawn' begins with an unusual spoken and it really carries you away with its mysticism; It is ideal for a summer day on the beach. 'I See A Day' has some good fuzz guitar and the melancholy 'It's Raining' couples this with sound effects; there's some beautiful upfront organ on 'Hear Me Cryin' and side one closes with the psychedelic anthem 'Dark Thoughts', a more aggressive, uptempo song with lots of fuzz guitar.
Other highlights for me are 'We'll Fall In Love' with its haunting organ and 'Last Morning' with its surrealistic beauty.
There's plenty to enjoy on this magical album with the hypnotic feel. There are really no weak tracks to be found (Unlike albums from established bands like the Beatles or Grateful Dead, where the fillers on every album is the rule). by Fantasyman