Avant-garde pop music meets contemporary classical music. Spoiler: The concept works.
It is one of the many injustices of the music world that Arone Dyer is not already much better known. The US artist is involved in many projects that can be described in the broadest sense as unconventional pop music. In the first year of the pandemic, she came into contact with the European classical ensemble Stargaze, which has already worked with big names like Nils Frahm and Julia Holter. With the 13-piece orchestra collective, Dyer recorded older and new songs that she saw little potential for being implemented in other band contexts.
The result is a sophisticated melange of experimental pop designs and modern classics. Various woodwind instruments, strings and a piano full of minor chords ensure an often bulky, sometimes playful, but always elegant sound aesthetic. Vocally, Dyer ventures to the highest heights, lyrically to the deepest depths: the touching piano piece “Carwash”, also stylistically a tragicomedy, is reminiscent of her late mother. “Define,” on the other hand, is dedicated to the disturbing fast pace of sex and love in the digital age. A demanding album that deserves attention.