The middle of “Poltergeist” works in a similar way. A classic Duster tale of the lies we tell each other, the plaintive lullaby eventually slips into a brook of static punctuated by a faint keyboard melody. It is the feeling of holding on to reality, even though you know that what you believe may not actually be true or right. These tracks suggest that the Duster hectare looking for other ways to illustrate their sad and sweet stories, staying true to the charm of their archive but not necessarily its structure.
But these are the exceptions that prove that the past largely rules here, which is not to say In dreams it's bad. “Quiet Eyes” is a wonderful bedtime lullaby, with its patient chords and insistent beat like a resting heartbeat. Amber lulls a lover into dreams, his voice humming like a sleepy smile. Over a springy rhythm and the shimmer of a Rhodes keyboard, Clay Parton sings during “Black Lace” as if trying to disappear behind the sound, a repetitive guitar lick that cuts into the mix as if covering it. That ineffable sense that Dusters are constantly disappearing has always been one of their main lures. It remains effective.
Although not their best song, 'Inside Out', from Stratospherebecame Duster's biggest hit (almost 13 billion TikTok Streams) because it squeezes big emotions into a small space, 140 weary seconds that somehow contain a lifetime of turmoil. Twice as much, the organic wonder 'Cosmotransporter' is similar, a cycle of tension and release that holds a world of frustration and redemption, anxiety and exhalation within a tight window. Think M83, pulling the shadows into the city to record in some boring suburban living room.
Last year, in his celebration StratosphereOn its 25th anniversary, Numero Group shot a replica into space. On YouTube, you could watch it leave its gray day behind and rise above the clouds, the sun shining on the edge of the camera. It was a funny little trick for a record that achieved a proverbial rise nearly 20 years after its completion, when a new generation stumbled upon the wealth of its lo-fi glories online. Why not the sky, then? It didn't reach orbit, of course, so you could watch it descend as well, coming back through the clouds and over an endless stretch of farmland before sending rabbits scurrying as it hurtled toward earth. In dreams it's not at all confrontational, but it's mild, as the Duster grapples with its own perception rather than flying over it.
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