Dream III

Though Dream III may look like a duo outing, Slushii and sapientdream are one and the same. While the colorfully coiffed Slushii (aka Julian Scanlan) made his name with whimsical, sticky-sweet fusions of EDM, trap, and pop, sapientdream is the Los Angeles musician’s outlet for gauzier, more downtempo productions. After 2018’s under-the-radar Dream, Scanlan officially announced the side-project with the release of 2019’s Dream II; Dream III marks his first time bringing together the two aliases. (Possibly the last, too: Upon the album’s release, Slushii tweeted, “I can finally let go peacefully, and move on.”) If the album had a mood board, it probably featured music boxes, rainbows, and ice cream trucks; Scanlan’s palette favors chiming tones and prismatic hues, and his wistful melodies are strongly evocative of childhood memories. “Fall for You” sounds tailor-made for middle-school slow dances; “In Her Eyes” flirts with emo; and the acoustic guitar-led “Imu” is a folk song given a light electronic sheen. Dream III can be dark: “I hate myself and I don’t care,” he admits at the beginning of “Island Loneliness,” and the cloudy “Mind Fuzz” is as anxious as its title. But even at their most forlorn, Slushii & sapientdream’s cotton-candy confections convey a feeling of hope. This is the sound of silver linings shining brightly.