strong>Head Like a Kite
Dreams Suspend Night
(Roll Call Records)

From the first triumphant call of horns and choir of voices, Head Like a Kite’s third record makes a bold but simple demand: listen up. Dreams Suspend Night is like riding a sonic rollercoaster, following one smooth track and experiencing a bird’s-eye-view of a park while left breathless by the twists and loops. 

Like a wild cousin of Girl Talk, Dave Einmo of HLAK brings together elements of music that shouldn’t work as well as they do. Instruments ranging from guitar to strings are laid down in the background, and then they’re stretched, spliced, sampled, warped, and enhanced according to any whim. Guests Boom Bip, Her Space Holiday, and members of Smoosh, The Saturday Nights, The Long Winters, and Swervedriver step in to lend different elements that make each song sound like a team effort. 

Every genre is up for grabs as Einmo and company smash their way through a record store, scooping up any element in their path. It’s electronic, hip hop, pop brilliance that’s danceable and diverse. This musical tempest is energetic and powerful, mischievous and engaging. While other artists have to build their songs cautiously around samples, Head Like a Kite takes that art and applies it to new material, proving that you can create and experiment with your own arsenal of beats and friends.