Dream to Make Believe

Influenced by local acts Lifetime and Saves the Day, Ben Jorgensen formed the punk rock act Random Task with friends from school. Though he was initially a drummer, he started playing guitar when his bandmates would leave their instruments at his mom's home. The group attracted attention from two record labels, however, the members' parents were "too scared at the time to let us do anything like that."[1] Before Jorgensen started college, he spent the preceding season writing material and taped two songs at a local studio. He wished to record more, but felt daunted by the track of playing every instrument by himself, he recruited bassist Anthony Dilonno,[2] drummer Nash Breen and guitarist PJ DeCicco (the latter two were cousins of Jorgensen).[3] They soon began attracting buzz;[2] they were due to appear on a Victory Records compilation, though were later taken off.[4]

In April 2002, it was rumored that the band would be releasing their debut album through independent label Equal Vision Records later in the year.[4] Gabe Saporta of Midtown became the group's manager; Saporta viewed Jorgensen as a younger brother-type of figure and wanted to help him avoid issues in the music industry that he experienced with Midtown. After the producer the band enlisted for their debut went missing, Saporta put them in contact with Ariel Rechtshaid.[5] They recorded their debut album in August at El Barrio in Van Nuys, California and Standard Electrical Recorders in Venice Beach, California. Rechtshaid acted as the producer and handled engineering, with additional engineering from Chris Fudurich. Chris Knight served as the assistant at Standard Electrical. Rechtshaid mixed the recordings, before they were mastered by Brian Gardner at Bernie Grundman Mastering in Hollywood, California.[6]

Musically, the sound of Dream to Make Believe mixed space rock in the vein of Hum with emo pop in the style of the Get Up Kids.[7] Comparisons were drawn musically and lyrically to Jimmy Eat World and Further Seems Forever,[8] while Jorgensen's vocals were compared to Legends of Rodeo frontman John Ralston.[7] DeCicco said they were attempting to differ themselves from their contemporises with the space rock sound, they "wanted to almost bring like Thursday meets Radiohead and put it somewhere in between, and just kind of give it a little more."[9]

The album is based on one theme, which evolved out of a poetry class Jorgensen took while in college. Though he disliked the class, he realized "since you're forced to write in one specific way your originality can come through."[10] Jorgensen's lyrics were centered around inspection, with elements of darkness and melancholy,[10] and tackling the topics of dreaming, space and time-travel.[7] Rechtshaid contributed synthesizers to the recordings.[6] The opening track is an instrumental titled "Armor for Sleep", which lasts for 45 seconds.[11]

Demos of songs that would feature on the album were hosted on the group's website,[12] namely of the songs "All Warm", "Being Your Walls", "The Wanderers Guild" and "Slip Like Space".[11] Armor for Sleep formally announced their signing to Equal Vision on January 18, 2003. In February and March, the group went on tour with Hey Mercedes.[13] In May and June, the group went on tour with A Static Lullaby, Time in Malta and the Bled,[14] and performed at The Bamboozle festival.[15] Dream to Make Believe was released through Equal Vision on June 3;[16] a release show was held for a crowd of 500 people.[10] The Japanese edition, released in early 2005, included the bonus track "Pointless Forever".[17] In November and December, the group supported Vendetta Red on their headlining US tour.[18]

On March 8, a music video for "Dream to Make Believe" was posted on MTVu.com.[19] In March, the group went on the Equal Vision Records Tour with Bane and Silent Drive.[20] Between late April and early June, the group went on a US tour with Midtown and Your Enemies Friends. They were supported on select dates by Time and Distance, the Working Title, Stars Hide Fire, Vise Versa, Emanuel and Lance's Hero.[21] On July 1, a music video for "My Town" was posted online. The video was directed by Andrew Paul. In July and August, the group went on tour with Fall Out Boy, Bayside, the Academy Is... and Name Taken.[22] Also in August, the group performed at Krazyfest.[23]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
Alternative Press	[24]
Exclaim!	Favorable[8]
In Music We Trust	Favorable[25]
Kerrang!	[26]
LAS Magazine	Unfavorable[27]
Melodic	[28]
Punknews.org	[11]

Exclaim! ranked it at number seven on their Best Punk Album of the year list.[29]

Dream to Make Believe received generally positive reviews from music critics. In Music We Trust writer Vinnie Apicella opened his review by calling it "an amazing record" by "talented musicians".[25] The release set itself apart from other works by its thematic choice; it saw the group incorporate "edgy and quick minor chording technique accentuated by mild harmonic runs, lingering resonance, and Ben Jorgensen's thoughtful croon."[25] Exclaim!'s Jasamine White-Gluz said it was a "beautifully" crafted record, encapsulating "a sort of naive innocence that probably wouldn't be possible" if Jorgensen was "old enough to drink."[8] She complimented the group for coming up with "the perfect emo record without being too cheesy or cliché".[8] Kaj Roth ofMelodic said despite the members' ages, they made "quite a good debut", delivering "good songs in a good performance."[28]

AllMusic reviewer Kurt Morris said the release "showcases another band partaking in the propagation of the emo movement" with "slight variations have been made to the sound so as to distinguish them" from their peers.[7] Though he clarified, "[t]hat's not to say that what's here isn't good", the usage of "hooks and some good lyrics are key and come in at the right places".[7] Punknews.org staff member Megan said only the pre-release demos our the only highlights on the alum, with the rest being "a slow drudge of songs that don't really evoke any emotion."[11] She criticized Jorgensen's voice as "often sound[ing] whiny and nasal", and since they are the "focal point of the music, they shouldn't sound so horrid. It's almost like nails on a chalkboard."[11] LAS Magazine writer Jonah Flicker bluntly said the group "isn't doing anything new, and not much good either."[27] As "excuses and half-assed endorsements a good record do not make. Let Armor for Sleep take a nice long nap."[27]

All songs written by Ben Jorgensen.[6]

Personnel per booklet.[6]

Citations

Sources