REVIEW: Nabihah Iqbal – Dreamer

It’s taken me a long time to finish this review. And for me that’s not a good sign. Sure it’s much easier to write about something if you love it, or indeed hate it, or even if you recognise that it’s objectively good, but just not for you. When it’s something else, as Dreamer is, then it gets more difficult. When it’s something else, which doesn’t particularly inspire you either way, it’s almost worse.

So I’ll start the review proper with a lazy comparison alert. The album I’m reviewing is called Dreamer. So I’m going to compare it to a dream.

Still with me? Ok, here goes.

Wondrous, gratifying, improbable, unbelievable, disorientating, perplexing. All words that a dream can be at all once, despite the complexity and contradictions. And, all words that you might apply to Dreamer, the second album from polymath Nabihah Iqbal.

If I could sum it up in a sentence, which is both difficult and unfair to both me and the album, I’d say that, for the most part, Dreamer, is intent in getting across a vibe, or a feeling, or an idea, rather than being here simply to entertain you. Take meandering instrumental ‘Lilac Twilight’ as an example. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here simply to be entertained by music – I engage equally with musicianship, lyrical prowess and a deeper emotional connection. But going back to that dream comparison; it’s one of those where it seems your whole night of sleep is building up to one event, one resolution, but it is constantly, frustratingly out of reach. Tantalising then is a word I’ve missed out of my earlier list. In short, Dreamer promises more than it ultimately delivers.

To explore this point further, let’s start with ‘This World Couldn’t See Us’. This is the liveliest, most up-tempo, most pop-typical and most entertaining song on the album, despite Nabihah’s nonchalant vocals. It has all the best bits of a playlist that might be entitled ‘Alternative 80s’, crammed into one song. And it’s great – I love it and it’s absolutely the high point of Dreamer. An album full of this sort of thing would be a winner for me. But it’s possible nonetheless that you may feel misled if, like I did, you heard and enjoyed this one song before you heard the album in full. That’s not to say the rest of Dreamer isn’t of the same quality (ok, ok, I’ve already given away that not all of it is) but it may well have led you to believe that this album would sound altogether different.

There are plenty of other highlights, but plenty of other low points too. ‘In Light’ could be a live recording in a venue with uncontrollably poor acoustics. It’s odd too to open an album just ten songs and 44 minutes in length with a song over six minutes in duration. ‘Sweet Emotion (lost in devotion)’ recalls Bat For Lashes at her weakest. ‘Gentle Heart’ meanwhile leans more into electronic beats, and benefits from them. Four to the floor really drives the song forward, in ways that others on the album just don’t. This middle section is the strongest on the record, with the euphoric ‘Sky River’ following soon after.

By now I’m pretty bored about telling you about ‘Albums That Were Written in Lockdown’. This is another. And perhaps the dreamy/nightmarish/tantalising quality evident here is a symptom of that. We can all relate to that feeling, but I don’t want to be reminded of it, even indirectly. But if there’s one thing to take from it all, whether it was Nabiha’s intention or just a consequence of circumstance, it does do dreaming very well.

Words by James Spearing