“Most of the time, I wouldn’t be too high on reviewing a disc that’s three years old. But a) when I received a copy of Neuron Dreamtime’s I Am My Own Mushroom, having requested it after finding them on Musicsubmit, I wasn’t aware that there was newer music available and b) my first exposure to their music, albeit music that’s three years old, was a very good one, and I think you should check them out, too. So here we go. Mushroom is a trippy mother lode of psychedelia-infused ambient, a quite-cool ride through a varying set of sensibilities blending electronic and acoustic. Take the opening track, “Lateralizations.” It starts the disc off wholly in electronic territory with a raspy batch of electrowash, but then a straightforward, almost folksy guitar melody arises from within it. This is typical of the way pieces are structured here: changing identity midstream, always effectively, to take on new instruments that add a fresh dimension of solidity to dreamy, vaporous starts. These smart shifts of tone, musically and emotionally, keep the disc intriguing and act to bring your nicely lulled mind back around to the moment. Guitar is central to most of the pieces here—giving a laid-back feel to the moving “Minor Recall,” which opens with the sound of rainfall; speaking its mind in edged, flashfire chords in “Flight of Anahatha”; spiraling, dipping and rising like an airborne hawk in the mesmerizing “Akashic Vapu,” which may be the highlight track here; anchoring the out-of-body float of “Azul” with a set of quiet notes. Across its fourteen pieces, Mushroom proves itself to be a gentle, reflective disc that gets into your head and makes itself comfortable. You may want to ask “Self Inflicted Love” to stay a while once you’ve succumbed to its soothing, pulsing waves and light guitar accents—a feeling you’ll get again during the aptly titled “Altered Mind.” Having thoroughly enjoyed this three-year-old offering from Neuron Dreamtime, I’m definitely going to look into their newer work. Because since I Am My Own Mushroom is a Hypnagogue Highly Recommended CD, I expect the new stuff will be just as enticing.”

-John Shanahan
Hypnagogue.net archived review