Distort The Truth

Dummy “Mono Retriever”

I’ve been wondering for a while why there aren’t more bands just shamelessly imitating Stereolab, particularly as I think artists can do that with relative impunity as Stereolab built their own sound out of shamelessly absorbing and reinterpreting ideas from older records. Dummy clearly is on the right track here – “Mono Retriever” owes a massive debt to the groop circa Mars Audiac Quintet/Refried Ectoplasm, but has enough of their own character and flavor to keep it from feeling like a weak impression. A lot of this comes down to the central voice being masculine and cold, but there’s a different kind of color palette to this. If Stereolab is more like bold primaries, this is a little more muted and blurry, particularly as the song nudges a little closer to shoegaze. Anyway, I’m an easy mark for this. I’ll take more, please.

Buy it from Bandcamp.