Dystopian Novels release their fourth single of the year, and it is their most ambitious track to date.
A continuation of their dark, cinematic sound, Within Without is less minimalistic and creates an epic soundscape that drags you kicking and screaming through their world.
The track starts with an intimate, close-up sound. The staccato delivery of the breathy vocal and the muted drum-machine beat lull us into a false sense of security.
We are then thrown headfirst into a swirling cauldron. The guitars get dirtier. The vocals, now layered, melt into the track. The drums rumble and snap. The ethereal strings rise and fall.
As you listen, more sounds reveal themselves – pads, subtle synth sounds, hidden melodies.
Like a train rolling down the track, there is a feeling of claustrophobia – the walls seem to close in as the guitars become more distorted and everything is brought to bear at once.
The final motif is repeated and repeated…. and then it’s gone.
An enigmatic track that washes over you in ever more melancholic waves (I wish there was a lyric sheet so I could piece all of those snippets together and know the whole story).
This is a welcome return for Dystopian Novels – they have been featured a couple of times before on Start Track: (https://start-track.com/single-dystopian-novels-ignored/) and (https://start-track.com/single-dystopian-novels-16/)
Within Without is out now.
Written by Grubby
