by Stewart MasonMoody Australian rockers Died Pretty broke up after 1993's Trace, a fine album that deserved more notice than it received, which made their unexpected 2000 reunion album, Everyday Dream, a pleasant surprise. An even more pleasant surprise is the fact that while the album is very much in the classic Died Pretty tradition of dark, somber post-punk tunes leavened by a sly sense of humor and guitarist Brett Myers' neo-psychedelic sense of songcraft, this isn't merely a rehashing of previous work. The group, led by co-writer and lead singer Roland S. Peno, seems to have been listening to their Portishead and Massive Attack albums during their downtime, as these songs are both much darker and much prettier than anything the band has previously attempted. A newfound reliance on electronics alongside Myers' hazy sheets-of-sound guitar makes the whole album sound like some sort of mixture of the Church, My Bloody Valentine, and any number of 4AD artists, with the expansive, falsetto-spiked "Misunderstood" a particular highlight.