Duncan Lloyd – Unbound
Unbound by Duncan Lloyd is a dark trip through the shady halls of post-punk, shoegaze, and alternative rock. The album, as its title means, feels released from strict genre limits, combining different sound parts into a smooth, dramatic atmosphere that encourages the listener to participate rather than simply witness. Unbound’s atmospheric goal is obvious. The guitar lines look like wet paint on glass, and the sound is bathed in reverb. This creates a psychedelic haze that is similar of shoegaze icons but has a deeper, rawer quality. In songs like “One Step Closer To The Dam,” where melancholic post-punk bass lines and surf-inspired guitars create a stressful, almost gothic challenge, the spirit of bands like The Birthday Party hangs in the background. One of the standout tracks is “I’m On It,” a dreamy move of contradictory male voices that interact with ethereal female harmonies and are nearly waveless in their loneliness. As though you’re floating in a memory you’re not entirely sure is yours, the impact is seductive and frightening. The minimalist approach of Lloyd’s lyrics appears throughout the record. It turns into a ritual. Melodic and rhythmic loops draw the listener further into a trance-like state, encouraging highly concentrated, headphone-bound listening. This song is intended to be listened to individually and in solitude rather than as background music. Lloyd’s allusion to Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space seems appropriate. With their unique acoustic architecture, each track operates as an independent space. Though not very violent, the album’s atmosphere, tension, and melancholy are all heavy. It’s more about psychological and spatial elimination than it is about storytelling. With Unbound, Duncan Lloyd creates an environment where you can lose yourself in rather than simply delivering an album. It is hypnotic, strange, and occasionally disturbing, nevertheless it is always extremely attractive. For those who prefer atmosphere to mental clarity, darkness to sunlight, and experience to elucidation, this collection of work both requires and rewards your total focus.
Photo Credit: Duncan Lloyd – photo by Billy McHugh
