Aural Fixation
You might not know it, but I was diagnosed with something called a protodiastolic gallop last Fall. It is not as sexy as it sounds: it adds up to being a third heart beat that erratically makes my heart bump and whir like a malfunctioning cog and while it’s not dangerous for a young man such as myself, it is certainly aggravating. I haven’t been able to pinpoint what sets it off, since I’m not a caffeine man and stress seems to have no obvious correlation to its occurrences, so I am more or less randomly struck with eye-watering spasms that soil my mood for hours at a time.
Of course, with about 230 Lotus upgrades to go, don’t be surprised if some day soon I’m pushed home in a wheelbarrow after collapsing and clutching at my chest. I’m not saying the process is killing me, just that a history of obtuse heart conditions is a dynamite excuse for getting out of anything one could think of.
I am, in all sincerity, feeling remarkably horrible today, so I’m getting to the music update for this week post haste.
Doseone – Skeleton Repellent
I didn’t give Mr Adam Drucker’s solo album from last summer a single valid listen, in spite of my love for the man who fronts my beloved Subtle. The learning curve for Skeleton Repellent is considerable, even for one well versed in Doseone’s unique mix of bedroom production and utter insanity, but I wasn’t at all cognizant of the reward to be had herein until last week. It took a shift in my approach to finally break into the Salvador Dali-esque landscape that Drucker creates, to realize that this output is a far cry from the post-rap indie rock bombast of Subtle and is, in fact, an intensely personal affair. Dose isn’t rhyming nor hollering about the religious atmosphere of the Middle Class or attempting to weave any superheroic pariahs into life, he’s crooning and often muttering the pains and privations that he and his have suffered for their art. The music is dense and those moments where Dose’s words find purchase on your ears come shrouded in layers of fuzzed out synth lines, muted drum tracks, and the omnipresent miasma of Dose’s own vocals, looped and warped almost constantly throughout the album.
It’s a curious effect, and while the man knows how to hit his audience hard with hook and drum, he gives himself more room than ever before to meander, get lost, and leave us off balance. The artist touches on elements of electronica, lo-fi, astral folksiness, and gothic intricacy, often in rhapsodic fashion all in the same song – Dose seems not only unphased but entirely unaware of his limits. This is a challenge to keep up with, but to sit through the work and let Dose lead you where he may is a phenomenal performance by one of the most underrated artists of the past decade. He’s penned one of the most absurd breakup songs ever to grace my ears, and it is utterly hypnotic. Closing this record of vulnerabilities and pain with the fearless and awkward singing, “I have chosen / to never be tamed by a lack of choice / to be Dax-strong” in reference to Dose’s good friend Dax Pierson, who was paralyzed while on tour with Subtle but whom never gave up on music, is a tearful confession that will mean so much to only some very few. I’m one.
BIT PART 