It’s nice to have dreams.
[Video]
[4.10]
Al Varela: I’m glad that Alex Warren didn’t decide, after “Ordinary,” to continue making sleepy love ballads for all eternity. He clearly has more of an interest in propulsive, adventurous love bangers (however far that reaches for you). I like this one a lot! Not as fist-raising as “Bloodline,” but a solid groove with a good hook. Gives me the impression there’s more to Alex Warren that we have yet to see. I like having him around for now.
[7]
Andrew Karpan: It has been some six or so months since I’ve had a proper dream at all, and I think these nights of blank and dreamless nightmares are somehow more pleasant than this growing, growling all-encompassing migraine of a record, evocative of the experience of listening to the clonking of large rubber boots, on the third floor of a fragile pre-war apartment. A true monument of unpleasantness, the likes of which will likely haunt the SUV-driving purveyors of soft rock radio programmes on the LA freeways for months to come.
[1]
Alfred Soto: An answer to the question, “How would Alex Warren sound mimicking Mumford & Sons?”
[3]
Katherine St. Asaph: Reminiscent of Adele! Specifically: The video, which cuts from genial TikTok skit to labored megachurch gospel, reminds me of the vast gap in goofiness between Adele’s persona and Adele’s music. The difference with Alex Warren is that only one of those is enjoyable.
[3]
Ian Mathers: Even beyond the mediocre chorus, the bridge where the dreaded stomp/clap/woah-oh trifecta rears its head, or the truly pointless music video, I just don’t like Warren’s voice. It’s like his style and the processing are trying as hard as they can to reach Michael McDonald heights, but plunge into the uncanny valley instead. But here, the valley isn’t creepy; it’s just shitty.
[2]
Harlan Talib Ockey: “Fever Dream” does sound like something Cold War Kids might have released 10 years ago, but 1) I liked Cold War Kids ten years ago, and 2) the four-on-the-floor-ish beat goes a surprisingly long way toward making this fun to listen to. Although the bridge is not very good, it’s more of a laughable cliché rather than a genuine misstep. (You cut the piano and added gospel choir backing vocals? Groundbreaking.)
[6]
Nortey Dowuona: Mr. Yaron has a good track record with Alex, but the way the drums hit on this track have everything to do with Adam Sterling, producer of much more memorable songs than this.
[4]
Julian Axelrod: Mammas Don’t Let Your Alex Warrens Grow Up to Be Teddy Swims
[4]
Hannah Jocelyn: Alex Warren tries his own “12 to 12,” and it’s not terrible, but for the first time I’m asking myself, “how would Sombr do this?”
[6]
Jacob Sujin Kuppermann: Seen in the context of Anglophone pop in the mid-2020s, this is the exact center: would be the worst Dua Lipa single, or the best Teddy Swims one.
[5]