Various Artists - Maybe I’m Dreaming

Maybe I’m Dreaming is the latest collection selected by Mikey Young (Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring) and Keith Abrahamsson (Founder and Head of A&R at Anthology Recordings), the mangled minds behind the beloved Follow the Sun, Sad About the Times, and …Still Sad compilations. The twenty tracks of Dreaming make a conscious, and unconscious, detour from its predecessors, sourced entirely from private press releases, spanning new decades and production modes within homespun folk, soft rock, and otherwise 70s and 80s FM radio adjacent music. The magic of Dreaming is the untold story of the artists behind these songs; those who missed the big time, but whose song craft and unrequited care hit the right notes, both high and low. 

Where Follow the Sun and Sad About the Times introduced us to the fame chasing, ambition crashing crooners who missed their shot in the mainstream, Dreaming delves deeper into the isolated wilds — a private world where production quirks, late-night tape hiss, and one-man studio dreams were not necessarily a choice but the hand that was dealt. With the parameters set to "private press only,” Young and Abrahamsson follow a circuitous trail of invention and emotion, documenting a spirit that’s more homespun, sometimes lonelier, and often a little weirder. The guitars still strum, but the keyboards’ hum is more prevalent and precious; wistful harmonies brush up against lo-fi drum machines; a bittersweet fog lingering over even the brightest melodies.

As with their previous collaborations, Young and Abrahamsson weren’t interested in constructing a museum or drafting a historical survey. Dreaming is a sentimental mixtape, assembled late at night when the mind wanders and old memories blur with imagined futures, those within reach and those far too mysterious to ever encounter. Songs were unearthed in personal collections, deep YouTube burrows, dilapidated web archives, and the dim corners of Discogs, with many selections tied not only to intuition but to personal connection. Some tracks arrived via friends — Kelley Stoltz, a frequent guide for Young, tipped him off to both Peter Kraemer’s lost gem “Let the Light Slip” and Awakening’s revelatory closer — adding an unseen but deeply felt thread of camaraderie to the compilation.