Review by Walter Price, Leipzig Germany
…why do you leave me here, DYR FASER – High Lightning
"In this new post-pandemic TikTok sugar-pop-dance-mimickers world, I’m not too confident that the younger generation of music experiencers will take the time to delve into the experimental side of pop music. Which, in my opinion, is an outright travesty. For example, earlier this month the Boston duo DYR FASER [Amelia May / Eric Boomhower] dropped a 7-track album called ‘High Lightning’ that will blow your mind, if you let it.
This set isn’t particularly pretty. It’s a bit dystopian, twisted for sure, and, well, as the band says, “‘High Lightning’ is a slow-burning spatial escape countered by strong, emotive swellings of doom.” Yeah, but there is an obsessive draw to this kind of soundscape. For example, for me, I hear hints of whimsey when May’s flute sneaks in and warps the sense of time. Or take the disjointed harmonies, these composers know that things aren’t as fluffy and clean as some would have you think. Hence, macabre is all around us and the freak shows are the actual main attractions.
And after a dozen or more listens and many thoughts about the plot lines, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will never be able to figure out all the nuances of the intricate instrumentation, the songwriter’s thought processes, nor does it matter if I do. Because the magic of this album is its complicated structure and ghostly undertones, which is what brings me back for more. Now, if these two can come up with a dance move the kids can attach themselves to, maybe more ears will find the time to check it out. I’m not holding my breath…"
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globaltexanchronicles.com/dyr-faser/
“This is Dyr Faser at their most deliciously twisted, comfortable in their own scaly skin and conniving in their compositions.”
- Daz Lawrence, UK review
altfeed.org/freaky-stylophone/
"These otherworldly sound explorers translate dream images into sonic sketches. Their psychedelic wanderings seem to be recorded anywhere except on our troubled Planet Earth. My guess is, at the dark side of the moon."
- turnupthevolume.blog, Belgium
“It’s all good, and the last 2 minutes of Heavy Vibrating R's sounds exactly like what that album cover looks like.”
- George Luke, Boston MA