“The Seven Dreams of Leviathan” is a remarkably pleasant listening experience, considering the breadth of musical ground covered by Kevin Hume and his Black Spartacus project. From sea shanties to lo-fi electronic experimentation to television theme songs, Hume flits easily from style to style with all the grace of a disciplined indie artist.

The record is made up of tasteful little bits of pop tunes, composed pieces suited for an in-house string quartet as well as more ambient, droning, unstructured electronic music, audibly drawing on inspiration from groups and artists such as Mercury Rev, the Flaming Lips, Brian Eno and avant-garde superhero La Monte Young. When Hume wrote and recorded “Seven Dreams…” for the final project of his sonic arts class at university, he carefully made sure that each and every track obeyed the principles of the minimalist aesthetic, making for a seamless listening voyage through the seemingly genius mind that is Black Spartacus.

As Kevin Hume himself says, “I like to think my songs are genuinely likable.” They really are, and that’s what makes all the difference - not only is “The Seven Dreams of Leviathan” an innovative effort, it is also full of uncomplicated and enjoyable tracks like “Big Time” and “Mysteries of the Deep”. I just wish my homework could be as good as this.

Year Released: 2004
Label: Asaurus Records
Related Link: Black Spartacus at Asaurus
Date Reviewed: 2004-09-30
Author: Andreas