Flying Lotus’ latest album dives into the dreamland

There are few experiences that we as humans know so little about than our dreams. They frighten us, provoke us, entertain us and, perhaps most often, confound us. 

We all have them, yet no one can really say why we do. It’s a topic singular in its universality and straight up strangeness.

It’s easy to see why musicians and artists have always been attracted to dreaming and sleeping. Plenty have tried to represent and capture dreams in their work, with varying degrees of success. 

One of those artists, experimental producer Flying Lotus, has attempted just that in his latest and highly anticipated album, released Oct. 2, “Until the Quiet Comes.” 

“Until the Quiet Comes” conjures up images and thoughts of that time right between sleep and consciousness. Dreams and thoughts start to intertwine as reality begins to fade and the unconscious takes over. This is the space where “Until the Quiet Comes” takes place. 

The album deftly manages to strike that rare balance of maintaining Flying Lotus’ signature sound while at the same time employing this ambitious thematic basis in every song. 

The jazzy, relatively mellow tracks flow together as top-notch featured artists like Erykah Badu and Thom Yorke supply ephemeral vocals that dig into the deepest notches of your brain.

Unlike his previous and much more dance-oriented album “Cosmogramma,” there are really no climactic songs on this album that could be considered singles. Instead, the album sinuously oscillates and breathes to create a hypnotic structure that’s difficult to escape. 

Indeed, the lack of natural starting and ending points and the seemingly never-ending succession of creative beat after creative beat makes it almost impossible to have the musical ADD I’m admittedly prone to with less cohesive albums.

The lack of climactic songs doesn’t mean there are not some particularly excellent songs on this album. “Phantasm” is an almost perfect example of the dreamy soundscape throughout the album. Laura Darlington’s whispered, smoky vocals twist and combine with Flying Lotus’ smooth and expansive production to create a blissful four minutes. 

“Heave(n),” “The Nightcaller” and “me Yesterday//Cored” are a few other standout songs to listen for. 

Close your eyes, pump up your headphone volume, lie down and surrender to “Until the Quiet Comes.” It might just be a dream come true.