Helios – Yume

Dreaming With Your Eyes Open

“Yume” is the Japanese word for “dream,” and Helios has kept their music closely in line with that idea. The music on Yume creates a dreamscape world for the album to exists in. The mix of electronic and live instruments creates a multi-layered, textured sound and enhances the dream-like quality of the songs.

Yume opens slowly with “Every Passing Hour.” The sound is hazy in the beginning and filled with static, distancing itself from the listener; it then becomes clear, like eye-sight coming back into focus. The static, though, remains present in the background, almost like the music is keeping its distance in that dream-like world. All the while, there is a sound that keeps coming back, like the sound of waves breaking, that just fits with the title of “Every Passing Hour.”

“It Was Warmer Then” still holds that slow static sound quality of the previous track, eventually building into something a bit clearer but never quite making it all the way there. The music is calming but filled with emotion.

Yume does pick up its beat in certain places. “Pearls” is the first song to drop the less-than-walking-pace beat that the album opens up with. There is a heavier, clearer beat occurring that is supported by string instrumentals and tambourines that work so well all together. Even with the clearer sound, “Pearls” still has the dreamy feel that this album is all about.

On Yume, everything feels like its is constantly shifting and swirling in different directions and it is so chaotic but all that chaos and movement is incredibly calming and puts the mind at ease. There is always a peaceful quality to the songs found on this album, but it never becomes monotonous – the music is always stimulating the mind and never lulling it.