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LP
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FTR 810LP
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The bicoastal duo of Greg Hartunian (West) and Colby Nathan (East) have made music together for 15 years. For their third and most focused full length, Dimples displays that they are anything but spring chickies. Past injuries leave scars, old flames leave burns, and memories are little more mental syrup on a midnight sundae. Obscure Residue stays true to Dimples' bittersweet off-the-cuff pop sound while pushing the tempo up a bpm or two, honing in their codeine dream melodies with orchestral arrangements. The humor is subtle, but ever-present -- cherished, not precious. Nowhere is this more-clear than on "Passage of Time," the most elemental and stripped down track of the album. Nathan's voice accompanied by the guitar delivers a personal and resonant message, stating: "Open up/you may get burned/But keep shut/And never even get a turn/There's no easing the passage of time." Dimples' songs comment on the psychic clutter that people collect, filter, and then retain or abandon -- be it by choice, chance, or circumstance. This clutter can be physical, too -- as experienced during Dimples live performances. Nathan typically performs alone in an ever-mounting pile of nostalgic detritus. He uses elements of the recorded materials while mixing in real time cacophonous loops, projections of deeply layered video collage, mutating outfits, and interactive set designs. One can see him smirking as he folds himself into the canvas of light and freak accident. Hartunian prefers tending his desert garden over performing live. He chooses instead to paint a world of his own design. These paintings, utilized for Dimples' album artwork and incorporated into the live projections, display surreal worlds that act as shelter for these strange pop songs. For a band more familiar with questions than answers, Dimples share some glimpses of wisdom that time bestows. Cheeky lyrics reflect that wisdom lies in the acceptance of ignorance and how it sculpts perception. Obscure Residue feels lived in -- a lifelong friendship -- direct and obtuse, familiar yet abstract. Dimples proves that they understand that time proceeds without restraint, and what comes along and what is left behind is less a matter of choice and more a matter of fact. So they sing, "some currents cannot be resisted, they turn you right around."
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LP
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FTR 574LP
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"No shortage of dune buggy up the canyon honey slide action here. The first tinges of sonic solvent action provide a loosened effect, but just as the tongue gets lazy, the swagger is spat gently from the tip as clarity bursts into the room with the urgency a hungry baby. Delicate without feeling soft. Brash without feeling harsh and at times Dimples swing fucking hard, like JJ and Leon without forcing it one bit. But if you don't like 'new music' this might not be your cuppa. Soul Chateau, isn't an updated prettied up throwback, it's all here and now, in the present time's glory, gore, majestic beauty, and glimmering perpetual urgency. Co-written, equally played, produced, and recorded by Greg Hartunian and Colby Nathan, Dimples is a truly collaborative project. After much of the album was tracked, Greg was involved in a near fatal car accident, rear ended in the right lane on California's treacherous Highway 5. This left Greg, normally an extremely active worker, in a back brace, and in chronic pain. A majority of the song sculpting was done while Greg was recovering. References to mortality, albeit not heavy handed, join the album's themes. Trialed seeds of brotherly music making; communion, collaboration and dedication. Forms of renewal through sonic therapy. Extracting the nuggets from their extended duo jams, Dimples shape these improvisations into luminous, hooky psychedelic electro camp fire sing-alongs, with the occasional guest spot from New England familiar shredders like Big Blood, Tom Kovacevic, and Keith Waters. "There's no waste, only composition. There's no time, only transition." Melding the dry Mediterranean subtropical climate of Glendale, California with the humid and sometimes frigid Continental climate of Maine, Greg, and Colby work the magic, whether it's in the Tropico Beauty studio of the San Fernando Valley, or South Portland's Laughable Recordings home studio. Topping off the listening experience is the incredible album artwork featuring a series of oil paintings by Salvador Charlí, Hartunian's alter ego with a paintbrush. The paintings depict the colorful and surreal inner workings of the world where the Soul Chateau stands tall on the hill. Through the spontaneity of improv and the deliberate and dedicated practice of song writing, what results is a diverse bouquet of carefully gathered fragrant blooms." --Dan Beckman-Moon, 2022
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