Despite the fact that Dreems is Cassius’ first new album in three years, producer Philippe Zdar—who died in an accident just two days prior to its release—was his usually busy self in the record's run-up. Not only had he produced Franz Ferdinand’s Always Ascending and worked on Phoenix’s Ti Amo and Robyn’s Honey, he’d also had a huge hand in making Hot Chip’s A Bath Full of Ecstasy, which arrives the same day as Dreems, the Parisian duo's fifth proper LP.
Zdar—and by extension, Cassius—had a knack for infusing pop and rock with house and disco grooves (or, one could argue, vice versa). Much like the languid Ibiza dance beats that anchor the floaty, California-inspired tunes on 2016’s Ryan Tedder- and Pharrell-featuring Ibifornia, Dreems also keeps its focus mostly on the dance floor, while inviting related throwback influences into the margins. Eighties references turn up in the slow-motion radio funk of “Nothing About You,” the gorgeous “Don’t Let Me Be” (which hints at the era's pop-R&B and freestyle), and Beastie Boy Mike D’s appearance on the percussive “Cause Oui!” But longtime Cassius fans will take the most pleasure in “W18” and “Calliope,” which pulse with the energy of vintage house and techno, the sort that Zdar and partner Boom Bass were likely imbibing in French touch's nascent days.