A whisper on the wind on a hot summer night. An ephemeral voice telling a secret to an ear that barely listens. Somehow the words calm the ear, everything’s going to be okay. Now just let go and drift off. Local band Dyr Faser’s new EP Metal Stare Down is that voice on the wind. Eric Boomhower and Amelia May bring their best version of an introspective night spent on a roof.
A real standout is Come To The Light. Starting off with slow polyrhythmic drums after an explosion, some kind of rebirth in a post-nuclear wasteland blanketed in sulphurous clouds. The low static drone and guitars that seem to span its infinite reach. The vocals bring a shamanistic quality, the way they beckon the listener “Come into the light” much like that of the bomb that brought this land low. Boomhower laments,”I was brave and enough I was favoring It will always be me”. It’s forlorn and deeply gothic. A pensive, melancholic mood stays throughout the song. The light may have once seemed like the only option. Now, after time has passed, what did the light really bring other than ultimate destruction?
Sparkle Shade is also fantastic. May’s ethereal voice is forlorn over something as reverb drenched instruments blend with her woes, “Soft complaints, yes it’s true, see I can do nothing right”. However she may have done something very wrong as the whole piece gives an energy of true regret behind the rather dreamy veneer. It’s a death song, a murder ballad, but it’s far more uplifting. A sweetness and strange warmth emanates from her vocals which come in waves. The tragedy is passed and this is the recovery.
Metal Stare Down is strangely gothic, blending the atmospheric approaches of bands like This Mortal Coil with a beautiful psych sound. It’s both calming and dangerous, equal parts fear and love. It’s got a hell of a lot of charm for that. The EP is wonderful and short enough to be experienced in less than a half-hour. Even if you already have too much new music, this is certainly a must-listen.
Dyr Faser plays at the Dorchester Arts Project on June 2nd at 8:00. $10 at the door. Beau Mahadev, Robot Detective, and Sycophant accompany them. ALL AGES!
