Obscure Residue [LP]

Dimples - Obscure Residue [LP]

The bicoastal duo of Greg Hartunian (West) and Colby Nathan (East) have made music together for 15 years. For their third and most focused full length, Dimples displays that they are anything but spring chickies. Past injuries leave scars, old flames leave burns, and memories are little more mental syrup on a midnight sundae. Obscure Residue stays true to Dimples' bittersweet off-the-cuff pop sound while pushing the tempo up a bpm or two, honing in their codeine dream melodies with orchestral arrangements. The humor is subtle, but ever-present -- cherished, not precious. Nowhere is this more-clear than on "Passage of Time," the most elemental and stripped down track of the album. Nathan's voice accompanied by the guitar delivers a personal and resonant message, stating: "Open up/you may get burned/But keep shut/And never even get a turn/There's no easing the passage of time." Dimples' songs comment on the psychic clutter that people collect, filter, and then retain or abandon -- be it by choice, chance, or circumstance. This clutter can be physical, too -- as experienced during Dimples live performances. Nathan typically performs alone in an ever-mounting pile of nostalgic detritus. He uses elements of the recorded materials while mixing in real time cacophonous loops, projections of deeply layered video collage, mutating outfits, and interactive set designs. One can see him smirking as he folds himself into the canvas of light and freak accident. Hartunian prefers tending his desert garden over performing live. He chooses instead to paint a world of his own design. These paintings, utilized for Dimples' album artwork and incorporated into the live projections, display surreal worlds that act as shelter for these strange pop songs. For a band more familiar with questions than answers, Dimples share some glimpses of wisdom that time bestows. Cheeky lyrics reflect that wisdom lies in the acceptance of ignorance and how it sculpts perception. Obscure Residue feels lived in -- a lifelong friendship -- direct and obtuse, familiar yet abstract. Dimples proves that they understand that time proceeds without restraint, and what comes along and what is left behind is less a matter of choice and more a matter of fact. So they sing, "some currents cannot be resisted, they turn you right around." 
A1. That's Forever
A2. Blame The Wind
A3. Hard March
A4. This Morning
A5. Pluto Return
B1. Saute Mode
B2. Obscure Residue
B3. Crystal Stream
B4. Wave and Walk
B5. Muscular and Velvety
B6. Growing on my Nerves 
B7. Passage of Time