By Mike Kleine
Weird things can happen when you move from Minneapolis to New York City. For Dom Davis, the musical genius behind Dearling Physique, this move meant leaving behind his experimental rock/weirdo outfit, The Trimmed Hedges, for something slightly more abstract. To start off his new project, Davis based the majority of his compositions on pure experimentation and a genuine passion for sound design. If anything, Dearling Physique is audio art that actually sounds like music. The debut album, “Impressions of the Night EP,” features some of the most refreshing electronic compositions this side of 2010 and somehow, it all sounds really familiar, but in a good way.
Even with a mere four tracks, “Impressions of the Night EP” features enough variety and originality to satisfy a first-time listener’s insatiable appetite for “good music.” Consider these five adjectives when describing Dearling Physique’s sound: sinister, calming, intelligent, refreshing and totally kickass.
“Simple You,” the opening track off the debut EP is dance music—well, sort of. It is a slow electronic-burner that begins with a fairly simple piano riff but then quickly escalates into one of those rhythmically complex-sounding tracks that somehow taunt you into dancing badly, partially because the beat is so hard to follow. Moving past the chest-pumping kick and echoed snares, “Simple You” is just a fun instrumental track. Almost 8-bit, but not quite, multiple percussive layers work with several hi-hat to mask the pervasive boom bap of the kick/snare drum combination. Part musique concrete, part pop, “Simple You” sounds like the sequel to the Knight Rider theme but also moves beyond it.
Yes, there is a bit of that eighties flavor in Dearling Physique’s sound, but other tracks like the EP-titled “Impressions of the Night” and “Beat Is Gone” go in a completely different direction to create this mysterious synth-laden world reminiscent of NIN and Gorillaz.
At first, Dearling Physique may sound familiar to some and the beats may feel a bit simplistic but all of the songs begin this way. It’s as if Davis is silently preparing the crowd for what’s coming. Thirty seconds in and “Impressions Of the Night” adorns its squelches and beeps with layered percussions and reverbed vocals. For this type of music, it takes a certain person to fully admire and enjoy the sonic perfection and tonal quality that can be found within each track.
Davis made the soundtrack to your life and this Friday, you are going to hear it for the first time.
