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Art in America — Dreams of the Disappeared
(Iconoclassic ICON 1098, 2026, CD / DL)

by Jon Davis, Published 2026-09-28

Dreams of the Disappeared Cover art

Art in America’s self-titled debut album from 1983 is a fairly obscure bit of progressive rock history. I seem to remember picking up the LP in a used store in the mid-80s, curious about it because of the instrumentation, which prominently included a harp, the cool cover art, and the involvement of Steve Morse and T. Lavitz of Dixie Dregs. After listening to it, I filed it under “interesting,” and didn’t make an effort to keep up with the band. Since it was the days before the internet, I had no idea what became of the band after that, and was quite surprised when a brand new album came my way in 2026. Dreams of the Disappeared is the group’s fourth studio album; since the debut, they’ve released Cloudborn in 2018 and Rise in 2025, neither of which I’ve heard, and there are also some sessions from 2013 with producer David Hentschel and bassist Tony Levin out there. Art in America is a band that could be described as Art Rock, but they have a sound that is quite varied and touches on a variety of styles. Maybe that’s frustrating for listeners who like their music to adhere to established lanes, but I find it fascinating in a way that encourages repeated listening. As it has been since the beginning, Chris Flynn is the chief composer and guitarist, and his sister Shishonee Flynn’s harp is one of the band’s distinctive features. Their brother Dan Flynn plays drums and contributes visual elements, including the eye-catching cover. As a listener, you should take the word Dreams in the title as a frame for the music: much like a series of dreams, the album’s twelve tracks take you on a journey that may defy conventions, but has its own internal logic. Some passages are lush and symphonic, others are delicate and acoustic, and still others are edgy and aggressive. The harp, along with some other unusual instruments like koto, tamboura, and balangi, add additional textures to the music. With a name like Art in America, it’s no surprise that they are unabashedly artistic in their approach, and Dreams of the Disappeared should appeal to fans of beautiful ambitious music.

Filed under: New releases, 2026 releases

Related artist(s): Art in America

More info
http://iconoclassicrecords.com/album/dreams-of-the-disappeared/

 

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