Dyr Faser now have 10 album releases under their belt, not to mention EPs and show no signs of sticking to any real formula – other than drowning your ears in satisfying gloop. ‘Falling Stereos’ is a pretty good description of this collection of ten tracks. The padding drum machine adds a strangely unsettling transience to the songs, which cascade around you, offering incredible glimpses of brilliance before they twist around themselves, coiling into an entirely different beast.
The nods to Sonic Youth are still there, though there is a return to a more directly psychedelic lineage, there are certainly echos of early Screaming Trees in there, not to mention renegade balladeering of the likes of Lee Hazelwood or Fred Neil – not so much sonically as in casual indifference to the listener. The old riddle about whether a tree that falls down in a deserted forest makes a sound with no one there to hear it – Dyr Faser are that tree – and they do.
Eric Boomhower and Amelia May share vocal duties with equal aplomb, alternating without themselves becoming formulaic or predictable. Opener ‘Accomplice’ has some beautiful chord patterns which almost leave you with that lurching feeling you get when you miss a step going downstairs. ‘Physical Saver’ grows from a spluttering engine into a soaring beast in that most satisfying way you barely notice. The guitar threatens to break loose and start noodling but this is not the way of Dyr Faser – it’s all about texture and mood with grandstanding forbidden.
‘Like That’ feels something of a misfire – churning without resolving itself to be neither one thing nor another, though this in itself serves as a spidery hors d’oeuvres to one of the band’s best songs yet. ‘Glass Hearts’, sung by Amelia, has the swampy majesty that so many of their tracks give in small doses, but here pops out fully explored. A bloated ascending scale explodes in slow motion into chiming sparks of light only to freefall and repeat in agonisingly addictive fashion. Magical.
‘True Guardian’ is another drive in the desert, with brief stop-offs to bury bodies stored in the boot. ‘Piece of Likeness’ calms everything down, only for ‘Burn the Whole Thing Down’, which brings to mind Meat Puppets‘ – a sort of revamped ‘Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds’. ‘Who You Are’ is your last glimpse of light before the final two tracks usher in the gloom. It’s like falling on the fire at a beach party. ‘House Guest’ feels halfway between a Satanic incantation and a dinner party toast. Flaming Lips for funerals. ‘Best Decision of My Life’ brings the album to its conclusion, Jefferson Airplane landing on water with all lives assumed lost. An excellent album with further rewards on re-listens.
Daz Lawrence
Available here from Jan 1st 2025: https://dyrfaser.bandcamp.com/
