After two albums of neo-traditional Irish music, Mike Scott brings
The Waterboys back to the big rock sound of earlier albums like
This is the Sea. Coming after the remarkably accomplished
Fishermen's Blues and
Room to Roam,
Dream Harder is a bit of a disappointment. Its best material doesn't carry the same weight as compositions from
Blues -- compare the simple beauty of
Fishermen's Blues' "Has Anyone Hear Seen Hank" to
Dream Harder's overblown "The Return of Jimi Hendrix."
Scott can still bang out some good songs, but on
Dream Harder there aren't as many as on previous efforts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine