Not trying too hard is the unsung rule of music disregarded by many, if not most, bands. Extra band members; lyrical references to obscure things so as to impress people; ‘an agenda’…anything along these lines takes you ever further away from the music – of course, sometimes, this can be a blessing. Dyr Faser understand this. There are only three of them (less to go wrong); they seem dedicated to creating a sound which is neither immediately classifiable nor obviously dipping in the pools of other artists; they appear utterly apathetic to any attempts to make them manufactured in any way. Indeed, the only negative I can find is that spell-check really doesn’t approve of their name.
The whole is E.P. is replete with swooning, almost horizontal vocals, courtesy of Eric Boomhower (extra points for the name), never drifting into pseudo-mysticism, despite the meandering, echoing hush that is formed around it. Though this could be easily lost, his support in the band – veteran guitarist and singer Thalia Zedek (whose solo work should be investigated at once, should it not already be on constant repeat on your dancette), as well as synth wrangler Kate Murray, are beyond sympathetic – their criss-crossing spurts of crushing melody and Suicide-ish iron-clad rhythms are a rare thing to behold. Dyr Faser is a band that plays music so organically that it baffles that they can never repeat the sounds they make – the songs on Trio sound like a single entity giving birth, a moment both magical and at once gone forever.
I’m going to resist breaking down the tracks into individual gobbets of reportage. The music Dyr Faser makes should be listened to as a full-on immersive experience – for shame if you skip any tracks or elect favourites. Their sound is anywhere from a New York basement to a peyote plantation in New Mexico to a sparsely attended knackered bar in Berlin. Close your eyes, and you’re there; this is music that has such a deft touch you can smell it and lick it. There is more depth and emotion in the synthetic beats and loops than in a thousand average guitars. The guitar work on top of this is both elegant and gently probing making this a band of such potential and velvety menace that you wonder how you ever managed without them.
Daz Lawrence