Dummy present new singles ‘April Limousine’ & ‘Alluvial Fan’
Dummy | Photo credit: Kyle Berger
“Time to get stupid excited: There's a new Dummy album coming soon.” - Stereogum
“‘Full Spectrum Dominance’...continues to celebrate movement, growing into a lysergic, head-nodding dance track that reflects their wide-ranging tastes.” - Alternative Press
“...there is an undeniable spirit coursing through ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’; a clever and captivating return from the Los Angeles quartet.” - Consequence
Dummy—the Los Angeles-based band of Alex Ewell, Emma Maatman, Nathan O’Dell, Joe Trainor, and Lance Umble—present the new singles, ‘April Limousine’ and ‘Alluvial Fan,’ from their forthcoming album, do you love the color of the sky?, out October 16th via Polyvinyl.
‘do you love the color of the sky?’ is Dummy’s most politically trenchant record, and yet their most inviting. Breakbeats and the captivating voice of keyboardist Emma 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. For example, the propulsive album opener and one of today’s singles, ‘April Limousine,’ touches on Earth’s climate degradation.
‘Alluvial Fan,’ meanwhile puts on display guitarist Trainor and drummer Ewell’s 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 the track starts with its stretched chord, it thrusts into an arrested mode of effortless cool a la A.R. Kane’s dream pop or Goldie’s jungle, (courtesy of O’Dell’s vocals). The accompanying video for today’s singles was directed and edited by Maatman.
Maataman comments, "The first song, ‘April Limousine,’ serves as a literal introduction to the album and includes references to every other song, including the demos that didn’t make it on. It leaves you with the thesis statement and the question, ‘do you love the color of the sky?’ … among others. The video is supposed to show a dichotomy of the beauty of nature and the chaos of impending technological advancement, which leads us into the next song, ‘Alluvial Fan.’ In the video, Nathan is drawn by a mysterious force to the wires around him.”
O’Dell elaborates, “The lyrics are a hybrid of two ideas. The first being based on imagery from a certain 2000’s anime where the goal of mass digital connection blurs the lines of our human reality and a sense of self. One can’t help but follow the humming wires further and further until they are completely lost in the ‘Wired’ web. The other idea is the phenomenon of Alluvial Fans. They’re sick… check them out. This song also features some silky smooth vocals from Allyson and Paul from New Issue.”
Watch the ‘April Limousine’ & ‘Alluvial Fan’ video below.
With 2024's Free Energy, international media acclaim followed, with The Line of Best Fit crowning the band "L.A.’s most principled band of musicophiles" (including the record in their Albums of The Year) and Uncut magazine praising the album's "welcome optimism" in their 8/10 review. If Free Energy (and its subsequent remix album, Bubbelibrium DLC) evoked the spirit of Madchester and the optimism of the rave, then do you love the color of the sky? 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 Ray of Light.
Despite 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 Joe recalls of their time since the release of Free Energy, “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,” Alex adds. “Touring has had a huge impact on us and our music.” That 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.
“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. The blood, sweat, and tears of ‘putting in the work’ is what propels do you love the color of the sky? 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.
Pre-order do you love the color of the sky?
Stream/Watch
‘April Limousine’ & ‘Alluvial Fan’
‘Full Spectrum Dominance’
Dummy Tour Dates:
Tue. Oct. 13 – Fresno, CA @ Tower Lounge
Wed. Oct. 14 – San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel
Thu. Oct. 15 – Sacramento, CA @ Café Colonial
Fri. Oct. 16 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project
Sat. Oct. 17 – Arcata, CA @ Miniplex w/ Dilies
Tue. Oct. 20 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Thu. Oct. 22 – Vancouver, BC @ The Wise
Fri. Oct. 23 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
Sat. Oct. 24 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
Mon. Oct. 26 – Salt Lake City, UT @ International Bar
Tue. Oct. 27 – Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive
Wed. Nov. 4 – Los Angeles, CA @ Sid The Cat Ballroom
= w/ Golomb
