As
Dusted,
Holy Fuck member
Brian Borcherdt explored material light years removed from the frenetic electronic excitement of his dancier main band. The offhand minimalism of 2012 debut album
Total Dust morphed into more of a full-band approach on 2018 follow-up
Blackout Summer, and third album III changes course once more, returning to the hushed indie folk of
Total Dust, but presenting its songs with an even more delicate touch and a beautifully raw first-take energy. Opening track "Not Offering" begins with little more than distant guitar and floating vocal harmonies, and gradually grows to include layers of atmospheric sounds that always stay at cautiously low levels in the mix. "Baseball" is similarly subdued, consisting of little more than straightforward electric piano and harmonizing vocal melodies before the drums kick in halfway into the song. Even with a full arrangement that includes horns, percussion, and backing vocals, the song retains a haunting and bittersweet melodic simplicity that recalls
Daniel Johnston's emotional nakedness.
Borcherdt and his family relocated from Toronto to rural Nova Scotia during the recording of III, and the shift from city life to a slower, more natural environment manifests both in the patient, organic presentation of the songs as well as the actual sounds of nature that sometimes show up in the recordings. The ghostly folk dirge of "Mountain Top" moves slowly, with
Borcherdt's reverb-coated falsetto and understated acoustic guitar melting into field recordings of birds and insects as the song ends. III is an understated affair, but the experimental production touches that helped define earlier
Dusted albums are still there, even if they're used more sparingly and are harder to locate when listening without headphones. Touches like airy synths and the building percussion push of "Recovery Cone," as well as subtle traces of tape echo that surface every now and again, complement the album's more stripped-down moments.
Borcherdt's move toward low-lit loner folk puts his songwriting gifts in the forefront, but III loses none of the mystical haze that has been imperative to
Dusted's sound since the beginning. ~ Fred Thomas