Fronted by Bilyana Furnadzhieva and Viktor Bénév, Crystal Sound Project’s In The Willow Dream delivers a fascinating blend of avant-garde experimentation and accessible melodies. It’s an album that challenges while keeping enough structure to leave an imprint long after the music fades.
“The Screen” opens the album with a dark, mist-laden atmosphere, where Furnadzhieva’s vocals cut through like sharp beams of light in a shrouded landscape. Every instrument feels purposefully placed, as if chosen only for its necessity to the song’s mood. On “Meeting Point,” the lead seems to be a wooden wind instrument, with a piano providing delicate, almost ghostly accompaniment.
“Hope Is Forbidden For The Loving” pulls the listener into a jazzy dreamscape, slowly unraveling into melancholy. By its final 30 seconds, a palpable sense of apprehension builds, adding tension to its fading moments. “Nora” stands out as a more grounded track, with striking vocal melodies and a solid, straightforward groove anchoring the atmosphere.
“Rain” introduces a different vocalist and takes on a theatrical edge, while “Profetia B” fully embraces free jazz chaos, its shifting structure and unpredictable tone flirting with the idea of disintegration at any second. It's one of the album’s most challenging moments, yet its boldness is hard to deny.
“Nocturnal Mood” toys with beauty and dissonance, a lush yet unstable track where madness lingers just beneath the surface. “Dark Wheel” haunts with eerie melodies that occasionally snap into focus, supported by tightly executed percussion.
The album closes with “Abborredansen,” a swirl of water, bells, and countless sonic layers that leave the listener with a sense of boundless exploration. In The Willow Dream invites you into a rich, experimental world—if you’re seeking something far beyond traditional pop structures, this is where to look.