Dream of a Man in a Top Hat: 80’s Post-Punk Adrenaline
WHAT DO YOU GET when you take two thirds of Boston 80’s post-punk band Native Tongue, separate, age for 30+ years, combine, throw in some new technology, mix thoroughly and serve? Well, if it’s the guitarist and the drummer we’re talking about, then what you get is Dream of a Man in a Top Hat. Lee Leffler (guitars, vocals, everything else but drums) and Michael Frackleton (drums, vocals, everything else but guitar) comprise the duo Dream of a Man in a Top Hat.
The rehearsal space may now be two separate houses, lyrics aren’t jotted down on scrap paper but typed into a phone, the drums aren’t acoustic but electronic, and you can’t go and see them at the Rat or the Channel. But over the years one thing hasn’t changed: the same uncompromising sensibility can be found in the sounds that come out of these two.
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As music blogger mp3 hugger so aptly put it: “they have conspired to go about things in the only way they see possible and that means the rest of us have to shape up or ship out.” In writing about their debut record, the 6 song EP Blunt Instrumentals (released summer of 2020), bloggers and curators described their music as: “cool”, “grooving”, “swaggering”, “psychedelic”, “experimental”, “wild”, “infectious”, “seductive”, “chaotic” and “unique”. In the summer of 2021 Dream of a Man in a Top Hat expanded beyond instrumentals and added their own unique vocals to a new full-length album, Sudden Return Of DOAMIATH, getting attention from critics, bloggers and playlisters alike. Divide and Conquer music magazine concluded their review with: “Fans of psychedelic music will have a leg up, but this stuff goes far beyond anything I’ve heard in that genre.
This is a wild and unique album…” Dream of a Man in a Top Hat began releasing a series of singles from 2022 through 2023, including Unfamiliar Streets, All Time Is Borrowed Time, Cold Hard Dirt, Eggshell Minefield, Opposite Poles, and Eustace, many of which appeared on their 3-song EP Truthsenser and their compilation album Buzzy Beans. In a review of the EP’s first single, Like a Fire Engine, Rock Era Magazine said: “In a vintage/futuristic execution, ‘Like a Fire Engine’ combines thrilling elements of Alt-Rock, Post-Punk, Psychedelia, and Rock ‘N’ Roll. All of the ingredients contribute to the theme’s vibe, including the title.
These two musicians are pros who know how to transport the listener to their own musical realm…” The new single, The Laughing Kind, will be released everywhere on February 16th, 2024.
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