Duster surprise release new album ‘In Dreams’
California slowcore pioneers, Duster have surprised released their new album, In Dreams.
Duster are one of the most influential guitar bands of the past 30 years, with their harmonious, melancholic take on slowcore, incredibly distinctive. Their undying legacy was confirmed at Primavera Sound Barcelona earlier this year, when they played a career-spanning set to a packed crowd, who were all rapt in silence, as their emotionally heavy music cast a trance-like spell over Parc del Fòrum.
The group consisted of multi-instrumentalists Clay Parton, Canaan Dove Amber, and Jason Albertini for most of their history, but Albertini departed in 2022.
Duster have form for surprise releasing albums in the mould of In Dreams. They adopted this tactic previously with their fourth studio effort, Together – the acclaimed follow-up to their self-titled 2019 album – which arrived on March 31st, 2022.
Following the record’s release, Parton revealed that Albertini had left to focus on his project Helvetia. In the liner notes to the Bandcamp release of You shot up past the moon scapegoat, Albertini maintained the departure was more complicated than that, and was primarily to do with mental health issues.
Despite Albertini leaving, Duster have pushed on with In Dreams. Featuring a band that have continued to refine the glistening shimmer of their sonics and amp up the spacey feel, fans will be glad to know that a heavy dose of emotion remains, as well as the strong feeling that the group are moving into a new area.
The first two tracks ‘Quiet Eyes’ and ‘Aqua Tofana’ are vintage Duster in terms of the slow, pulsating tact they take, but ‘No Feel’ is a more animated and gritty-sounding moment, featuring one of the group’s best grooves yet. Elsewhere, the aptly named ”Cosmotransporter’ typifies the narcotic, spacey vibe of the record. At points, it’s almost shoegaze.
The closing track, ‘Anhedonia’, is one of the most profound things the group have released since reforming in 2018. It follows the single, ‘Anhedonia II b/w Ecstasy Cowgirl’, which was released earlier in August in collaboration with the production duo Dirty Art Club.
In Dreams is released via the Numero Group and is now digitally available everywhere. Physical releases, including cassette, CD, and vinyl editions, will be arriving on December 6th. Starting September 27th, Duster will be heading out on tour in the US, supported by Dirty Art Club.
In 2023, Duster’s masterpiece Stratosphere celebrated its 25th anniversary. It has been cited as an influence on the likes of Alex G, Girlpool and many others.
In Dreams tracklist:
- ‘Quiet Eyes’
- ‘Aqua Tofana’
- ‘No Feel’
- ‘Starting to Fall’
- ‘Close to Home’
- ‘Isn’t Over’
- ‘Cosmotransporter’
- ‘Black Lace’
- ‘Space Trash’
- ‘Baking Tapes’
- ‘Like a Movie’
- ‘Poltergeist’
- ‘Anhedonia’
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