{"product_id":"fred-thomas-those-days-are-dust-dream-erosion-pt-ii","title":"Fred Thomas - Those Days Are Dust: Dream Erosion Pt. II","description":"\u003cp\u003eThough he's more widely known for the easily digestible indie pop of his bands Idle Ray, Failed Flowers, and Saturday Looks Good To Me, Michigan-based artist \u003cstrong\u003eFred Thomas\u003c\/strong\u003e has an equally entrenched footing in experimental sounds and abstract instrumental music. His 2020 album \u003cem\u003eDream Erosion\u003c\/em\u003e was a collection of languorous synth atmospheres that washed by in soft fragments, sounding beamed in directly from lost memories of a childhood visit to a planetarium. \u003cem\u003eThose Days Are Dust\u003c\/em\u003e is the second collection of Thomas' synthesizer pieces, this time taking a turn away from the gentle, sleepy glow of its predecessor for an approach that's spare and absorptive.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhere \u003cem\u003eDream Erosion\u003c\/em\u003e was made up of fully arranged songs, the process for \u003cem\u003eThose Days Are Dust\u003c\/em\u003e was different. Usually working with a single synth and a few different analog tape delay units, Thomas recorded experiments with loops and minimal composition daily throughout 2021. This resulted in music with a wintery feel,\u003cbr\u003eskeletal and solitary sounds akin to Hans-Joachim Roedelius' reflective sketches or the loneliest passages of Aphex Twin's \u003cem\u003eSelected Ambient Works\u003c\/em\u003e catalog. Instead of polished, straightforward presentation, non-musical elements came into greater focus with these new loop-born songs. Tape hiss, white noise, disruptive distortion, and sounds happening within the environment were all tied into the production almost like additional instruments. On one song, a mic was placed directly on a heating vent as it wheezed in the room.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly a few moments on \u003cem\u003eThose Days Are Dust\u003c\/em\u003e approach liveliness. One of these, the full-bore \"Unfit\" is throttled forward by live drums from Chicago's Quin Kirchner (known both for work behind the kit for Ryley Walker, Wild Belle, and countless jazz sessions as well stellar records of his own as a leader) and bass from Hydropark's Jason Lymangrover. There are brief moments of activity like the dub vortex of \"Post-Flood Edits\" and the fuzzy sputter of \"Composition of the Whale,\" but the album is largely understated and thoughtful. Rather than regress into nostalgia or seek to mold an ideal picture from half-formed memories, these songs reflect on the decay of time passing and the answerless era they were made in. Every rough edge and uncomfortable sound seeks to remind us to always keep moving forward. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dagoretti Records","offers":[{"title":"Vinyl","offer_id":53151298715955,"sku":"NPV","price":23.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0881\/7655\/8387\/files\/i_00c37490-6526-48e5-afb6-27ad6bc93a37.jpg?v=1773965694","url":"https:\/\/www.polyvinylrecords.com\/products\/fred-thomas-those-days-are-dust-dream-erosion-pt-ii","provider":"Polyvinyl Record Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}