Sula Bassana, the side project of Liquid Visions� bassist Dave (who performed all the instruments), is psychedelic genius. These six songs lift you up and carry you off on a cosmic journey. It�s heavy on the �60s guitar � warm tones and fluid, relaxed playing � with some exotic, organ-influence Middle Eastern touches and electronic flourishes. Think Vangelis� score to Blade Runner merged with Hawkwind and early Pink Floyd. Speaking of which, they close out the affair with an excellent cover of �Baby Blue Shuffle in D Minor.�

Dreamer offers a hallucogenic-varying ride through the mind of Dave Schmidt aka Sula Bassana. Much like his imagination, the music is quite colourful and vivid. Moreover, the songs are highly unique, particularly from one another, lending a feeling of constant motion to the album. Dave also manages to make more than a few of the songs quite catchy, meaning bits and pieces will get stuck in your head long after the CD is over. The title track is prime Liquid Visions, where he played for several years the four strings, so you get driving bass, funky groovy keyboards, shredding guitar that comes off as hauntingly beautiful. Tracks like "Dealer McDope" and especially "My Blue Guitar" invite the listener to lie back, close their eyes and dream with Sula Bassana. His solo guitar playing is very emotional in the slow, wailing-note vein of Dave Gilmour or Steve Hillage. In the end, much of this album lies in layers of confusion but still demands attention due to the depth of oddity displayed here.

The plush psychedelia of Dreamer should come as no surprise when one realizes that Sula Bassana is the nom de rocque of Dave Schmidt, formerly of Germany's leading psychedelic light Liquid Visions. Schmidt fills the mostly instrumental tracks here with all manner of acid textures, from the fluid guitarscapes to the electronic exotica. No matter what kind of fuzz or ephemera cloaks the tunes, Schmidt always puts the melody first, making Dreamer some of the most accessible psych rock you're likely to inhale. Add a striking album cover and a groovy, atmospheric cover of Pink Floyd's "Baby Blue Shuffle in D Major" and you've got a winning slab of electric dreams.

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