Duster - Stratosphere

TIRED OF BEING TIRED

Not enough is said about the impact geography has on musical influence and sound. Take Grunge and its pent-up frustrations, no-nonsense attitude, and flannel layers. It screams Seattle. The corners of Hip-Hop make for easy examples too, with the cold austerity of the East Coast competing against the laid-back warmth of the West and the ostentatious clubbing of the South. Geography is so ingrained in music that when bands like Duster emerge, hailing from the sandy beaches of San Jose, crafting boreal Slowcore, their presence leaves more questions than answers. This is not the music for the time nor place. Fitting then, that their debut's called Stratosphere. For as odd as it seems, unlike most, Duster's form of escapism forsakes the sun's glow in favor of a sullen moon. The only aspect that remains is the fuzz, shimmering from humidity-soaked mirages, coated in layers of agony.

It's a pleasant form of Slowcore, one not entirely bogged down by reductionism. There's power behind these riffs, a force tethered in motion by the weighted chains of Clay Parton's despondent vocals. Without him, Stratosphere turns into Indie Rock with occasional bouts of expression (namely, the droning wall of sound that is the instrumental title track). But his distant wallowing caters to tracks like 'Heading For The Door' and 'Topical Solution,' where it feels as though the instruments themselves are succumbing to his impassive rumination. The Lo-Fi quality itself helps manifest this disintegration (see: 'The Landing' and 'Shadows Of Planes'), as the clangorous imperfections and permeating static create ruinous music made to sulk in.

However, while some of these moments move sluggishly onwards, in typical Slowcore fashion, Stratosphere's variety stands in stark contrast to the genre's muted sense of exploration. The aforementioned title track's a solid example, gliding hypnotically through dismembered Space Rock, while other uptempo cuts like 'Echo, Bravo' and 'Earth Moon Transit' should feel familiar to Indie Rock conventionalists, as the former predates Phil Elverum's mangled freak-outs while the latter finds comfort in a late 90's contemporary; Modest Mouse. All that being said, nothing comes close to the greatness of 'Gold Dust,' a two-minute instrumental of pure bliss that seemingly exists at the epicenter of all these influences. It's warmth in a cold world, a budding rose amidst wilting flowers. Though it doesn't represent Stratosphere overall, the bridging qualities of 'Gold Dust' evoke the band's intent to marry solemnity with hope effortlessly.