KYLE BOBBY DUNN
Bring Me The Head Of Kyle Bobby Dunn
LP049
Low Point 2012
15 Tracks. 121mins45secs

Amazon UK: CD | DLD  US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD

Even to Kyle Bobby Dunn’s standards, Bring Me The Head Of… is a hugely austere introspective collection of soothing textural pieces. Recorded between his native Canada and Brooklyn over the course of several years, this double album follows A Young Person’s Guide To Kyle Bobby Dunn, also published on Low Point two years ago, which gathered rare and long unavailable material onto two discs, and last year’s excellent vinyl-only Ways Of Meaning (Desire Path).

A nudge over the two hour mark, Bring Me The Head is, like its predecessors, composed entirely of vast sprawling atmospheric compositions in between which slightly more concise pieces are inserted. Although it is quite difficult to determine the exact composition of any of these pieces, processed guitars form the bulk of Dunn’s sonic palette, stretched into long, fluid drones arranged into oddly melodic compositions, but it sometimes takes some time to get these, so broad are his soundscapes. There is, in essence, very little distinction between any of these compositions; Dunn doesn’t only generates slow moving drones, but, while all these pieces are stand-alone, clearly separated from each other, his distinctive sound spreads over the whole record, as if it was contained within a cocoon and appeared almost entirely uniform from the outside. The devil, as is often the case, is in the detail; here an unusual chord progression or recurring loops imperceptibly derailed by an unexpected step in a series of patterns, there a slight tonal difference or a slowly morphing drone… These are often perceived rather than heard clearly, like elements of a dream which may or may not actually have a reasoned place as part of it, yet alter it somehow.

The likening of Dunn’s work to dreams makes perfect sense, as the progression in his shapes and tones is at times almost unnoticeable. Equally, all remotely sharp edges and fuzz of distortion has been polished to the extreme, until all is left is a set of beautifully smooth and highly polished textures. Where sounds start or end becomes completely irrelevant, it is how they are assembled into coherent soundscapes, and how they fit together, which determines the impact of these compositions. Despite its stark minimal aspect, there is a warmth which radiates from the whole record, revealing the acute humanity which binds it together

Taken as a whole, Bring Me The Head Of Kyle Bobby Dunn can feel a tad intimidating, but the two CDs actually work perfectly well as standalone recordings, giving the freedom to experience the work either in all its glory or in more manageable chunks to fit the listener’s mood. Kyle Bobby Dunn ultimately creates here another impressive record and sees him assert his place at the more atmospheric end of the music scene.

4/5

Kyle Bobby Dunn (MySpace) | Low Point
Amazon UK: CD | DLD  US: CD | DLD Boomkat: CD | DLD iTunes: DLD