Boxcutter / Dissolve

Planet Mu

Barry Lynn had already dropped a couple albums that looked at dubstep from fresh angles before everyone else started to do the same. This time around, things are different and he’s taken off in a direction that leaves dubstep behind entirely.  The title is a reference to a common video art effect, where one image gradually transitions to another. The Dissolve has an unpolished hue to it, created with keyboards, drum machine, echo, tape and sometimes even electric guitar. While showing an affinity to Theo Parrish’s productions or even hypnagogic pop, it sits in a world of its own. The devil is in the details—it’s rich in twists and turns. The Dissolve opens with the spacey funk and marimba of “Herbie Jam” before floating into the synth and bass of “Zabriskie Disco.” Things start to take on more gravity with “All Too Heavy” (one of three tracks featuring singer Brian Greene) which mixes a hazy, dubbed-out funk abstraction with effect-laden vocals. “Cold War” (with Ken & Ryu) gets heavier still, with a slow dancehall kick drum and grimy metallic claps, over which mourns a sad 8-bit melody and slip-slide strings. The lo-fi title track delivers a sound that’s frayed around the edges, bathed in tape wobble and hiss. “Topsoil” mixes a gliding synth melody with hazy synth stabs and dusty drums, before “Little Smoke,” a collaboration with Kab Driver, wraps hard, offbeat drums in cascading synth arpeggios. By the time The Dissolve is complete, the listener feels as though they’ve been transported and dropped off somewhere else entirely.

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