Musicians are a notoriously fickle bunch and putting several renowned names together is no sure sign of success. The art of musical chemistry is a fine science and getting those compounds to
fuse is more often due to luck rather than design. Therefore, when former members of legendary punk bands D.I. and The Damned pooled their considerable talents as Professor And The Madman, things were either going to sparkle or fall flat, the band’s 2016 debut album, Good Evening, Sir!, positioning them very much in the former camp. Since that debut, the band have been tickling our eardrums with an expansive brand of baroque rock that truly knows no boundaries, and album number five is no exception.
If ever an album was aptly-titled, then it’s surely Dreamworld. Featuring eleven tracks that exist in that magical space somewhere betwixt wake and sleep, there’s an otherworldly quality to this album that seems to echo from another dimension and no more so than on the opening (and title) track. Underpinned by a jaunty keyboard motif, ‘Dreamworld’ strolls like a happy drunkard; it’s slightly off-kilter, and as with much of this album it operates on several levels. Imagine Pet Sounds-era Brian Wilson after imbibing LSD; beneath the bubbly, buoyant beat there’s a discordant edge and, not unlike a David Lynch film, there’s a feeling that we can peel back the veneer that separates this world from the next (or the waking world from sleep) and peer at what lies beyond. On an album that is always shifting gears (and often within the same song), this duality is a thread which stitches the album together; from the surreal ‘Brand New World’ to the lounge lizard-inspired ‘Mental Tape’ via the backward-masked psychedelia of ‘12 Strings And Tambourines’, it’s unified by an English kind of eclecticism (even though half the band are American, they’re musical Anglophiles), and it is this constant rotation that ensures it never becomes stagnant or staid. While it is perfectly feasible to dip in and out of this album and enjoy the songs individually, it’s best consumed in one sitting to fully appreciate all its various facets.
Those who only know Professor And The Madman through their previous endeavours might be surprised at the sound contained within Dreamworld…or maybe not. Alfie Agnew and Sean Elliott (each provide vocals, guitars and keys on this release) both served time in South Californian punks D.I., whilst drummer Rat Scabies and bassist Paul Gray provided the rhythm section to The Damned’s best albums (namely The Black Album and Strawberries). What they all share is a love of melody and song structure, and whether they are blasting from the speakers on a cover of 20/20’s ‘Nuclear Boy’ or swirling psychedelically on ‘Temple Of Madness’ they never lose sight of groove and swing, and that makes the songs comprising this album both infinitely interesting and instant earworms.
An album born in rock n’ roll heaven or a kind of punky purgatory (take your pick), Professor And The Madman have cooked up a treat.
- Dreamworld is released via Fullertone Records on 7th August 2026.
- Official Website
Track List:
- Dreamworld
- Tolerant World
- Brand New World
- Mental Tape
- The Light
- 12 Strings And Tambourines
- Adams Street
- Nuclear Boy
- Songs In My Head
- Temple Of Madness
- Dreamworld Reprise
