Eugene Dubon returns with A/A single ‘Emails / Cloud Over Ohio’
In a world where everything feels immediate, with human consumption at unprecedented levels, from streaming platforms to fast food at the click of a button, a bit of mystery goes a long way. Not everything needs to be so full-frontal and in your face, and this is something that Seattle to London export Eugene Dubon seems to understand.
On his 2022 debut album, Finish Line, the enigmatic artist demonstrated that he is a master of spacious, creeping tracks toeing the line between post-punk and another entirely unique realm. Now, he’s picked up from where he left off with his atmospheric new A/A single ‘Emails / Cloud Over Ohio’.
A duo of songs featuring his customarily haunting and repetitive guitar riffs, the American engages the listener within seconds as he spins a surreal social commentary drawing on real experiences and more imaginative spaces. The first cut, ‘Emails’, kicks off excellently, with one of his finest, almost Captured Tracks-esque licks sitting atop the Motorik rhythm section. The music works to create ample intrigue before he spins a yarn via his stoic baritone.
Demonstrating the type of lyrics Dubon produces, ‘Emails’, kicks off with the words: “I don’t think my intentions were that insincere / It’s not like I was the one twisting and climbing up the ceiling / And I remember the sun of the morning blasting down between my eyes behind the shades / As I kept on cruising cooly on my way / I’m looking around in this English food mall / All I see are a lot of sad looking hot dogs.”
As the supermarket brings us back to earth, this initial horror is transposed to a more familiar place. Dubon mentions seeing someone typing away, alone in the office, crunching numbers. Mimicking the tip-tap of the keyboard, the central melody floats back in as Dubon wonders if there’s something more significant to life than this. It’s an excellent reading of the existential questions that life in the capital can bring, with the music swirling in and out of these postulations right to the end.
Up next is ‘At Least There’s Not Some Toxic Cloud Over Ohio’. Perhaps a more dynamic track than its forebear, it opens with a dark, high-plains-evoking riff and sinister telephone vocals. A mesmeric beat then fades in, backed by a more prominent bassline and another of Dubon’s crawling riffs, before he returns to his usual vocal style for another study of humanity.
A demonstration of how to layer a song with constraint, the songwriter lets the elements breathe as he slowly introduces new ones, such as the droning texture that colours the chorus. True to form, the track follows a meandering path that concludes with dissonant guitars and the return of the unsettling telephone voice.
Eugene Dubon has got something genuinely unique going on here. All I can say is that I hope he steps out of the shadows soon and plays some shows, as these songs are made to be heard live. I do not doubt that he’ll make us wait for such a treat.
Listen to Emails / Cloud Over Ohio below.
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