In recent weeks the blogosphere has been lit by fireworks of praise for Dustin Wong’s second album on Thrill Jockey, Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads, so we thought we’d throw our hat into the ring and add a bit of news which should negate the occasional “one trick pony” tags that have been unfairly slung his way.
Formerly of Ponytail and Ecstatic Sunshine, Wong’s solo work first started gathering attention with 2010’s Infinite Love, a musical mass of intensely detailed guitar loops full of fretboard wizardry and pedal-tastic engineering that, if occasionally a little opaque, still garnered considerable praise for its imagination and technical skill. Dreams Say… treads familiar ground but shows an artist really hitting his stride in his chosen medium, providing material on a much grander scale and with more accessibility where previously he could have been accused of self-indulgence. This is not to say that with Dreams Say… Wong is playing to the crowd, more that he has hit a sweet spot of production and composition, possibly due to the astounding fact that much of the album was recorded live, which elevates it far above his previous output. It could be derided for being “a guitarist’s album for guitartists” but Wong achieves so much more than that with his attention to tone and rhythm that it makes you marvel at what just one man and one instrument can achieve given the right conditions.
To compliment the studio album, Wong has begun a project titled “Say Your Dream, Create a Sound” in which individuals are encourage to submit narrated versions of their dreams as inspiration for a personalised soundtrack. The variation in style on show here proves the true scope of Wong’s artistic palette, both as a musician and a producer, and makes us eager for the prospect of future adventures into unfamiliar territory that Wong undeniably has the means and ability to traverse.
The self-made video below is for ‘Diagonally Talking Echo’ from Dreams Say, View, Create, Shadow Leads released today through Thrill Jockey Records, whereas ‘Dolphin in a Pool House’ is from the “Say Your Dream” project which is slowly being released through his soundcloud. If you would like to submit a dream you can do so here. Enjoy.
Dustin Wong - Diagonally Talking Echo from Thrill Jockey Records on Vimeo.
