Album Review: Alice Ivy - I'm Dreaming

On her debut LP, Melbourne producer Alice Ivy (real name Annika Schmarsel) mimics her literary namesake with a somnambulant trip down the rabbit hole.

Opening track Touch even samples dialogue from Disney's Alice In Wonderland (1951). There's a dark edge to the track's pulsing synth and scuttering effects but, have no fear, Georgia van Etten's here, her shimmering vocal offering a hand through the would-be gloom. 

Touch sets the tone for the hazy, jazzy anthem Be Friends, which first landed last September but remains an undeniable summer jam. It's followed by the sonic ascension of Chasing Stars, with layers of dreamy sound that cut through with stabs of sax to elevate a sweet Bertie Blackman vocal. Elsewhere, the title track again features van Etten in outright sultry-chanteuse mode, while the doped-up Kaya High, with Schmarsel herself on vocals, is the perfect comedown.

Schmarsel says the album's designed to be listened to in its entirety and she has a point; a couple of instrumental tracks (see St Germain with its mantra-like horns) help unify the various tracks into a coherent, hallucinogenic whole. For the most part it is an upbeat trip, although Get Me A Drink, an ode to drowning your sorrows - featuring dual raps from E^ST and Charlie Threads - is disarmingly acerbic.