“Heaviness” is a term used in extreme music for a long time to describe how dark, deep, or even how loud a song can be. Heaviness usually also has an individual mean to each person. For me, heaviness can be the tone, but it is also conveyed in the message the music is trying to get across lyrically. When it comes to KIRK WINDSTEIN’s debut solo album Dream In Motion, it has heaviness in spades.
The first thing that is noticeable about this album is how it subtly sets itself apart from other projects KIRK WINDSTEIN has been in. Kirk has an amazingly unique voice that suits this album so well, and I am really enjoying seeing him exploring the spaces he can with this release. You get what your used to on tracks like ‘Dream In Motion’ and ‘Toxic’, but you also get this hauntingly sorrowful clean voice on tracks like ‘Once Again’, ‘The World You Know’ and ‘Necropolis’. His guitar work is masterful as usual. He has such good ear for tone, and for keeping it consistent from track to track.
The biggest surprise of the album for me was the cover of JETHRO TULL’s ‘Aqualung’. This song was big for me growing up and really developed my love for dynamic songwriting, and KIRK WINDSTEIN brings a much darker tone to the track, almost updating the song for the person I am now, as compared to when I discovered the original track. The only downside to this album for me is that it’s a little short for my liking, only clocking in at just under 45 minutes.
The highest praise I can give Dream In Motion is that this is a KIRK WINDSTEIN album through and through, and no one can really say otherwise. I just hope the wait for another solo album isn’t another 30+ years.
Review By: Robert Atkinson
KIRK WINDSTEIN
Dream In Motion
eOne
5.5 / 6