Album Review: The Juan MacLean - In A Dream

Listening to In A Dream, the new LP from DFA powerhouse The Juan MacLean, we're reminded that it's been a long five years since John MacLean dropped his last proper record, The Future Will Come, back in 2009. That fantastic dance record was laden with Human League-esque back and forth narration between John and long time collaborator Nancy Whang. But much has happened for both since then. While MacLean has pumped out a plethora of 12" singles, remixes, and one-off side projects with other vocalists, Whang helped James Murphy finish off LCD Soundsystem and started lending out vocals to other dance acts, including LA nu-disco act Classixx. But there's something about the magic that happens when John and Nancy get back together that makes the Juan MacLean a truly irreplaceable dance act. We all had that pleasant reminder earlier this year when the duo dropped the free Valentine's Day single "Get Down (With My Love)". Over the last couple years, MacLean has been shifting his sound slowly but surely from the new wave meets nu-disco fusion that we saw on his first two records to a full on house monstrosity. After singles like "You're My Destiny" hinted at it, "Get Down" was the final push off the cliff into dazzling new territory. With his first full-length record alongside Nancy in five years, John MacLean returns to the top of his game in dazzling fashion. In A Dream is an endless soundscape of dreamworld house magic, and gives us one of the best dance records of the year without question.

For those that were still queasy about diving head first into a sixty-minute Juan MacLean house record, the band kicks the LP off with an 80s throwback sizzler that puts a nail in the coffin of any and all wavering trust. Landing somewhere between John Carpenter soundtrack and "Get Innocuous!", "A Place Called Space" burns the torch for a full eight minutes, with dueling guitar solos, flanger drums, more epic Human League vocals, and a never-ending supply of disco energy that you could put on repeat for days. To kick off the trip into dreamland, John and Nancy takes us on a trip through time and space that would have sold just fine as a one-sided 12", but that's just the beginning of the story.

"Here I Am" is a statement more than a track title. Breaking severely from the style of "A Place Called Space", In A Dream's, second track is a glittering 2-step banger. No longer emulating John's stoic narrator tone, Nancy's vocals ride high atop this track, sparkling as much or more than the diamond synthesizers heard throughout. Here, there is no back and forth any more - rather, we have John behind the table and Nancy sliding like a ghost back and forth across the front of the stage. Six minutes fly by in a heartbeat before "Love Stops Here" takes us back to new wave territory so we can catch our breath with something familiar. Here, Nancy takes the backseat as John leads vocals on this heartbreaker. That New Order high bass line towards the end is priceless, and the whole thing is wonderfully vintage. From there, Nancy takes the reins again for the pained disco magic of "You Were A Runaway".

Rounding out the first half of In A Dream is one of the best of the bunch: the epic seven-minute "Running Back To You" cuts the tempo in half for a synth-heavy funk groover. The track oozes with sensual magic even before Nancy drops in on the vocals, but once she does, the game's over. Here, in a context entirely different from the excellent second track "Here I Am", John and Nancy find themselves in perfect sync. The groove builds like clockwork as Nancy's impossible suave sprinkles every second of the track with the perfect balance of haunting sexuality and cool flirtation. The whole thing is magical. You can almost picture the disco ball spinning above them as Nancy belts out the chorus and John gingerly leans over the mic just to whisper "Don't you know?". Oh, we know, John. We know. In A Dream takes one more turn down the road back to the 80s on "I've Waited For So Long" before its all house 'til the crowd goes home. The duo return to the balanced back and forth vocals here as a strong bass line guides the slow burner forward.

For the last three tracks, there's no looking back. John takes lead vocals on "Charlotte", a brilliantly unique track, balancing elements of new wave, hard house, and R&B into a super jazzy, smooth turn down an alley that's just a bit too dark. Nancy plays the part of the siren, echoing every negative inclination as MacLean wonders and wanders through a haunted love. "Charlotte" reminds us that we'll never have John MacLean pinned down. The guy does what he wants.

One thing we definitely know he does do is save the best for last, and that's absolutely the case here. Nancy takes leads for the last two tracks. "A Simple Design" puts the grooviest synth-bass line you've heard in years over a slow house groove as Nancy busts through one of the most dynamic vocal hooks on the record. The bridge is nothing but glitter as Nancy dances back and forth with the synthesizer before an additional hi-hat kicks in on verse two and the seven-minute banger burns brighter and brighter until the end. But as wonderful as "A Simple Design" is, nothing on In A Dream beats "The Sun Will Never Set On Our Love". The spaced out intro brings "A Place Called Space" full circle before breaking it all apart in a ravenous 2-step mess. Nancy Whang takes on a Julee Cruise-esque air about her, operating in her vocal stratosphere, sounding as angelic as ever before, floating high above the double time groove below. After two minutes of ambience, the groove kicks in and you never want it to stop. Thankfully, it doesn't for a whole eight minutes. With "The Sun Will Never Set", John MacLean puts another record down in the DFA case of greatness. The groove goes until it fades naturally into the sunset, and then the dream ends, and we wake up and wish it was happening all over again.

John MacLean and Nancy Whang make a daunting return on In A Dream, proving that their team up is a unique and highly necessary effort on the vast landscape of modern dance music. In A Dream is out now on DFA Records! Grab it at your local record store on CD or 2xLP. To hear more of the record, stream it in full at the DFA store, where you can also cop it on limited colored vinyl. John is DJing throughout Europe until November, but keep an eye on his Facebook page for any and all North American dates (let's hope they happen).