Though they were only active for a few years in the late '60s and early '70s, this trio covered a lot of ground in a very short time. After forming in Northern Ireland as the Method, the group moved to London and recorded one album as Andwellas Dream before shortening their name to Andwella, switching their style, changing up their membership, and then promptly disbanding. To Dream chronicles the entire journey, beginning with the blues-driven psychedelia and genre experimentation of 1969's Love & Poetry. While the production and songwriting are under the influence of some fairly obvious reference points of the time (Beatles-y vocal inflections on "Clockwork Man" and "High on a Mountain," massive Cream-esque guitars on "Shades of Grey," hints of Dylan's Blonde on Blonde output in twangier moments like "Take My Road"), the band also brings in unexpected moments of jazz flute and other adventurous touches. The songwriting of bandleader David Lewis ties together what could have been a far less focused effort, creating a baseline for Andwella's various stylistic experiments. The group shortened their name, brought in a second guitarist, and dropped some of the flower power affectation for their second album, 1970's World's End. This set begins with the band leaning into hard-rocking, almost paranoid guitar heaviness on "Hold On to Your Mind" but then quickly pivoting to orchestral soft rock on tunes like "I'm Just Happy to See You Get Her" and the relaxed shuffle of "I Got a Woman." Their final album, 1971's People's People, was far less of a mixed bag. Though still led by David Lewis, he was the band's only remaining original member at that point and Andwella had gone full-on roots rock, taking notes from the Band and post-Sweetheart of the Rodeo Byrds on countrified tunes like "Mississippi Water" and rusty ballads like "Four Days in September." While almost unrecognizable from their bluesy psych-rock of just a few years earlier, the album's consistent format allowed Lewis' songwriting strengths to shine more than they did in more outlandish psychedelic settings. To Dream's remastered audio and chronological pacing lays out Andwella's interesting creative arc nicely, telling the story of a band who expressed themselves differently on every album before fading into the bizarre musical ether of the early '70s. ~ Fred Thomas