Album review: THE LUCID DREAM – Songs of Lies and Deceit

October 13th, 2013 by jason

THE LUCID DREAM – Songs of Lies and Deceit

Holy Are You Recordings [Release date 01.10.13]

A joyous little collection of reverb mayhem. ‘Songs of Lies and Deceit’ is rooted securely in the quality pop jangle of The Stone Roses and the Jesus and Mary Chain. The Lucid Dream have infected every track of their debut album with enthusiastic, furious, echo-laden psychedelia.

There’s a bit more going on beneath though. The excellent ‘Love In My Veins’ starts off like a hillbilly stomp until the reedy, heavily distorted nasal vocals kick in and the keys and guitar combine to sweep the track noisily into Killing Joke territory.

Sometimes there is a goth nod to the likes of The Mission in the nagging bass lines of album opener, the spectacular ‘How’s Your Low When You’re Low Alone?’. Sometimes it’s the distorted sitar that catches the ear, as in ‘The Twighlight End’ where it pours over waves of guitar and vocal harmony to induce worrying transcendental leanings.

But mostly, it is the vocal hooks, the echoed and chopped Rickenbacker montages and the thick synth loops blended in with some achingly pretty melodies – check out ‘In Your Eyes’ – that give this album its signature psychy flavour.

‘Sweet Hold On Me’ is a natural album closer, a nine-minute trip of majestic space rock, where the band stretch out, change pace and create walls of noise like The Wedding Present never went away.

The band, hailing from Carlisle in Cumbria, sound like they are enjoying themselves. Mark Emmerson, voice, guitar and keys also writes most of the songs and he has a good feel for what works. He has immersed himself in an unashamedly retro sound. The 90’s references drip and trip over each other in their efforts to spill raucously out of the speaker. But that’s no criticism. The Lucid Dream deliver with a refreshing sincerity and this is a spanking debut.

****

Review by Dave Atkinson

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions,

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 16 November 2025.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This 600th show was first broadcast on 18 November 2025

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen live or listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

Our occasional Newsletter signposts latest additions to the website(s). We also include a selection of recent top albums, based on GRTR! reviewer ratings. The newsletter is sent out a few times a year.

If you’d like to register to receive this occasional mailing please complete the form:

If using a smartphone/tablet please tap here or re-orientate your device

(Note that this registration is separate from site registration which allows you to leave comments and receive daily emails about new content. If you wish to register for this – in addition or separately – please click or tap here – for more information – the form is at the foot of each page. Please read our privacy policy when opting-in to receive emails.