“As a band we’re fascinated with the questions raised about the origins and meanings of dreams. By the time we die we’ll have spent more than six years of our life dreaming, and a third of our lives asleep,” relays Pure Reason Revolution’s lyricist/songwriter Jon Courtney. “The Dark Third is kind of a concept album that investigates the supposedly sharp boundary between dreaming and wakefulness, and that perhaps the two states aren’t so different.”

So begins the surrealistic sonic journey of The Dark Third (Red), Pure Reason Revolution’s explosive debut album. A love of art and a passion for music come together on their debut, where the surreal serves as inspiration for concrete lyrical and musical ideas. Pure Reason Revolution’s sound marries all that is good in rock ‘n’ roll, an infectious blend of today’s pop sensibilities and classic rock stylings – as refreshing as it is timeless.

The Dark Third was produced by Paul Northfield, whose renowned production chops has helped shape the work of Yes, Hole and Marilyn Manson. The group – comprising Jon Courtney (vocals, guitars, keyboards, programming, bass), Chloe Alper (vocals, bass), James Dobson (keyboards, violin, programming, vocals, bass) Jamie Wilcox (guitar, vocals) and Andrew Courtney (Drums, Percussion) – had its genesis from modest beginnings. Brothers Jon and Andrew grew up in Reading along with Chloe, who all played in various bands while still in high school. The lineup and final incarnation came when Jon was at university, where he met James and Jamie.

In 2003, Jon was working on a Uni project dealing with the ‘60s Psychodrama, “The Prisoner,” where the show’s music was disregarded, and students had to create original material for it. His newly created music inspired Pure Reason Revolution and the band began honing its style. Their name was also derived from Jon’s University experience. His dissertation studied the definition of genius and was applied to one of his heroes, Brian Wilson. In his academic pursuit he studied philosopher Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, and the name was born. If you’re wondering, Jon concluded that Brian Wilson is in fact a genius.

Since then the group’s sound has expanded, adding adventurous arrangements and incorporating more sonic influences. “listening to more progressive rocky stuff I guess influenced a lot of the arrangements, but we’ve always peppered pop sensibilities and hooks into our songs.”

Prog and pop hooks meld seamlessly within the context of their richly textured compositions. “Apprentice of the Universe” houses sonic washes and blips that fade in and out as it builds into a cataclysmic soundscape. The epic “The Bright Ambassadors of Morning ” navigates a dream quality where intricate melodies build to a heavy, urgent sound while multi-chorus vocals float hazily and gauzily above the music. Harmonies and beautiful male-female vocal interplay add lushness throughout.

Pure Reason Revolution’s lead single, “The Intention Craft,” brings surreal themes and the group’s ethos together. The song title is inspired from Phillip Pullman’s Amber Spyglass. “Basically, ‘Intention Craft’ it’s this flying machine; operated by both an individual & his/her demon. The craft kind of links in with your mind and is able to read your intentions fly you wherever you want to go,” says Jon. “It’s kind of a depraved love song… being in a relationship; blind to crap going on behind your back and not listening to the startling alarms! Ignoring your inner thoughts and working yourself into confusion – not being able to take control of your emotions and the situation: hungover snapshots, paranoia, reflection. Our waking thoughts and experiences shaping our dreams and our dreams influencing our waking consciousness: receding down a tunnel and thinking your mind’s playing tricks on you!”

Chloe adds, “It’s surreal and really, ties in with the lyrics. It’s a really good representation of the kind of shared vocal work we do, kind of almost like call and response.”

While musical influences are diverse, from Nirvana and Super Furry Animals, to Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and The Beach Boys, lyrical inspiration is often derived from dreams. “Sometimes I wake up in the night and write down what I’ve been dreaming about... any dreams I can recollect in the morning I’ll also scribble down.”

The line between reality and dreams skews in serendipitous fashion when Jon approaches writing. “I write about snapshots of life, observations, moments, experiences and other people’s experiences. You get a feeling for something, and then you go to your guitar or piano. Chords come along kinda subconsciously,” Jon intimates. “You write with your subconscious mind, when you’re on that edge of consciousness and just slipping into a dream world. The lyrics are symbols of my imagination and you are left to identify them or not. It’s [the listeners] interpretation that’s the most important thing.”

Like the surrealist artists/philosophers Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí and Rene Margritte, who also serve to inspire the group, ideas between the conscious and subconscious mind intertwine. Pure Reason Revolution paints dreamy soundscapes left open to the listener’s interpretation.

“It’s nice not to be too literal about it, because there’s a real surreal element about the music,” affirms Chloe. “It’s nice as well for the listener to just conjure up their own images, and what good is music if it doesn’t evoke feeling? We’d rather not give a kind of lengthy story about the creation and their meaning because [listeners] find their own way about it, and it’s more exciting I think.”

Indeed, Pure Reason Revolution’s music speaks for itself, marrying dreams and consciousness to open the mind to new musical possibilities.