Album Review: Pino Palladino & Blake Mills - "That Wasn't a Dream"

That Wasn't a Dream is a remarkable collaboration that continues to show, if anything, that Pino Palladino and Blake Mills are up to the task at creating some beautiful and technically crafted jams.

Verve - 2025

In purely technical aspects, bassist Pino Palladino and guitarist Blake Mills are the best in the game. Palladino has been around forever it seems, providing his fretless bass for artists ranging from The Who to Adele to D'Angelo (Rest In Peace!). Blake Mills has been around since the late 2000's providing his technical mixing and production skills for artists like Japanese Breakfast, Alabama Shakes, Dawes, as well as his proficiently excellent guitar playing for Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan among so many others. Mills also released one of the best records of 2023 and of the decade so far, titled Jelly Road. The two certainly have nothing to prove at this point in their respective careers, therefore they will simply play together seamlessly by providing colorful, dense psychedelic improvisational jams for the people. They did this back in 2021 with Notes With Attachments and now they're teaming up again for That Wasn't a Dream.

That Wasn't a Dream is similar to its predecessor, where the songs are sporadic ideas that are ever moving and refuse to stay stagnant. There are elements of folk, funk, jazz, bossa nova, psychedelia, and everything in between. There's a dreamier, more soothing aesthetic to these tunes, more so than on Notes. You can certainly get lost in them and the best listening experience would be on a good pair of headphones. The sound is thick and dense and there's a lot to pick at and sift through, like on much of Mills' material. The acoustic guitar and horns wash you away on "Contour," sounding very reminiscent of the beauty on Jelly Road. "I Laugh In the Mouth of the Lion" is a pretty bossa nova tinged tune while the playful grooves on "Somnambulista" move around so sporadically that they're joyfully hard to pin down or put in a corner. "Taka" is fuzzy, bright, and playful in its funky delivery. "What Is Wrong with You?" is slow moving and moody, while "Heat Sink" is over thirteen minutes of sonic melding and blending and listening to it will turn your head for the better. The ending title track is a pretty, acoustic epilogue with bright bass and some nice, warm humming from Mills.

That Wasn't a Dream is a remarkable collaboration that continues to show, if anything, that Palladino and Mills are up to the task at creating some beautiful and technically crafted jams. At this point, it almost seems that anything they touch will be both technically efficient and full of ear candy. It would be interesting to hear them continue to play off of one another in future projects if they decide to do so. In terms of groove, attention to detail, and the actual recording of these tunes, you can't really go wrong with this album.

My Rating: 8 / 10

Favorite Songs: "Taka," "Samnambulista," "Contour," "Heat Sink"