{"product_id":"dummy-do-you-love-the-color-of-the-sky","title":"Dummy - do you love the color of the sky?","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere has long been an obsession with what the “future of music” looks like. How it will be constructed, perceived, analyzed, interacted with. So much brainpower is put into what’s next, because we always want to be one step ahead. Culturally prescient, enlightened, on the cutting edge. But what if you sidestep all that noise? What if a band, freed from the rat race and trendiness, embraces insularity to the point it somehow becomes the future? With \u003cem\u003edo you love the color of the sky?\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eDummy\u003c\/strong\u003e crafts the perfect anti-zeitgeist record, freezing you into their incorporeal moment of time. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIf 2024’s \u003cem\u003eFree Energy\u003c\/em\u003e (and its subsequent remix album, \u003cem\u003eBubbelibrium DLC\u003c\/em\u003e) evoked the spirit of Madchester and the optimism of the rave, then Dummy’s newest couches itself in a lyrical skepticism that recalls the best of post-rock and drone—think Seefeel, Windy and Carl, Laika, or Disco Inferno—while playfully adorned in jubilant pop hues of early Björk, The Sundays, and Madonna's \u003cem\u003eRay of Light\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith songs that touch on Earth’s climate degradation (as heard on the propulsive album opener “April Limousine”), A.I. and the devaluation of art (on lead single “Full Spectrum Dominance”), and how we’ve been conditioned into accepting the surveillance state (on the penultimate album track “N of 1”), \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003edo you love the color of the sky?\u003c\/em\u003e is their most politically trenchant record, and yet their most inviting. Breakbeats and the captivating voice of keyboardist Emma Maatman belie a sleight hand—as the listener becomes enveloped by Dummy’s unshakable grooves, they’ve subconsciously accrued a vision of a new radical politic. As Maatman expresses, “A.I. could not exist without the harvesting of our data and using all of humanity’s intellectual property and collective work.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon’t worry about the heavy themes though; \u003cem\u003eDYLTCOTS?\u003c\/em\u003e straight up rips. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGuitarist Joe Trainor and drummer Alex Ewell are specific in their commitment to reverence for the form, while the melodic toplines of Maatman, Ewell, and guitarist Nathan O’Dell stick to your brain without being rote or facile. When “Alluvial Fan” starts with its stretched chord, it thrusts into an arrested mode of effortless cool a la A.R. Kane’s dream pop, Goldie’s jungle (courtesy of O’Dell’s vocals), or “Squeaky Wheel,” where sampled guitar feedback recalls Tricky’s \u003cem\u003eMaxiquaye\u003c\/em\u003e in its assertion of intent; this is what music, according to Dummy, can\/should\/will be. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite all the allusions to futurism, Dummy are a classic band. Not in the retrofetishist, nostalgia- trapping sense, but in their work ethic and commitment to the music. As Trainor recalls of their time since the release of \u003cem\u003eFree Energy\u003c\/em\u003e, “We toured a lot, around 150 days, and played approximately 113 shows,”  with numerous treks around the US and two trips to Europe, “...and on larger stages than ever before,” adds Ewell. “Touring has had a huge impact on us and our music.” \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat is a staggering amount of touring and roadtripping, a feat that can only be achieved if you truly believe in your art and the power of music itself. It stands to reason, then, that their latest release has also completely shucked the idea of being recreated cleanly in the live setting. Ewell acknowledges that performances might go “off the rails” with the amount of samples, loops, delays, and pedals strewn throughout \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003edo you love the color of the sky?\u003c\/em\u003e, but that they also “want to push the limits” of what’s achievable. As Trainor observes, studio recordings and live performances are “different sides to the same Dummy coin,” noting that while future touring will “involve more tech,” their vehemently “anti-laptop on stage” stance celebrates precision and letting their frayed edges show. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Making music shouldn’t be fun.” It’s a haughty claim, but when Dummy jokingly asserts this, it comes from a sentiment of earnestness and true love for the game. Contributions that touring bassist-turned- full-time-member, Lance Umble, imprints onto album closer “Heaven’s What You Make of It” suggests a band culture of togetherness and reciprocity; inclusion for the sake of better art. The blood, sweat, and tears of ‘putting in the work’ is what propels \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003edo you love the color of the sky?\u003c\/em\u003e to a triumph—a byproduct of shedding skins through live performance. It’s not a vast departure from their discography, unmistakably them, and yet constitutes a creative leap forward which almost sounds effortless from the group. It’s a treat to witness a band this creatively in-tune with themselves, whose experiments and ideas always hit, who, when they describe a concept, actually stick the landing. Maybe the future of music comes with the type of deep self-actualization Dummy possesses. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat a time to be alive, indeed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eDummy is Alex, Emma, Joe \u0026amp; Nathan\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003ewith additional bass by Lance Umble\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eAdditional vocals on “Song of Mana” by Nina Pitchkites\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eAdditional vocals on “Alluvial Fan” by Allyson Foster and Paul Benson\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eProduced, Recorded and Mixed by Dummy and Joo-Joo Ashworth\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eMastered by Mikey Young\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eCover photography by Linden Gledhill\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(255, 42, 0);\"\u003eGraphic design and layout by Emma Maatman\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/blockquote\u003e","brand":"Polyvinyl Records","offers":[{"title":"Early Bird Vinyl (Blue Butterfly Twist Vinyl)","offer_id":53851579253043,"sku":"PRC-536LP-EB","price":26.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Vinyl (Neon Yellow)","offer_id":53851579285811,"sku":"PRC-536LP-RETAIL","price":24.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Test Pressing","offer_id":53851594981683,"sku":"PRC-536TEST","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Test Pressing + Early Bird Vinyl","offer_id":53851595014451,"sku":"PRC-536TEST-EB","price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":53851579318579,"sku":"PRC-536CD","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Tape","offer_id":53851579351347,"sku":"PRC-536TAPE","price":12.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Digital","offer_id":53851595047219,"sku":"PRC-536DIGITAL","price":10.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0881\/7655\/8387\/files\/Dummy_dyltcots_VinylMockups_EB-Sticker_SQ.jpg?v=1786618257","url":"https:\/\/www.polyvinylrecords.com\/products\/dummy-do-you-love-the-color-of-the-sky","provider":"Polyvinyl Record Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}