Dogs Versus Shadows - A Billionth of a Second - Subexotic Records | The Electro Review

Dogs Versus Shadows
A Billionth of a Second
Subexotic Records
TBR: 23rd October


Presenter of Kites and Pylons on Sine FM, Lee Pylon AKA Dogs Versus Shadows releases his fourth album on Subexotic Records. This dystopian inspired sound maker is drawing on introverted muses this time, with a much more inward facing journey awaiting the listener. Said to recapture the paranoia of the Cold War Period as well as remember the ongoing hope that eventually came to fruition, A Billionth of a Second wants to conjure historical sensations that are perhaps relevant again.


With a noisy burst of power that hums behind chiming digital sonic tones, the introduction draws us in as if on a spindle. A slight adjustment reveals an entire new dimension as Sculptress begins. Beautiful plucking droplets radiate in scaling washes of sound that harmonise with slow and breezy illumination that shifts like dreamy temple walls. The pace quickens, a franticness overtakes an initial calm and then, in self-soothing bars, the tempo of the melody reduces once more until relaxed.


A deep resonance bounds in like slow-motion Dobermanns sliding around spacious corners. Radial beams of sound warp and weft from the spinning nexus that pin-points the fulcrum of dissipation. Organ like chords reflect in rippling pools of reverberation. Swift adaptations of key rise and drop like wavefronts on a windswept liquid as gentle reflections beam in lighthouses of harmonic exploration. Rosemary's Window contains a scene that lingers, even when we are not there.


Seed and Ore shivers into being on waves of colliding spectra. A tapping rhythm then emerges from the pale gloom and begins to explore the surroundings. From each angle of the dimensional space, the synthesiser fills the room with its sensation. Then, a ticking like a clock begins to creep in a dreamy passageway that's lit with fairy-lights and glow-sticks. An ambient transition from sculpture to fabric gives way to flowing textures and weaves that depict subtle images. Music for Carports, inspired by Brian Eno no doubt, provides a sonic wallpaper.


The Book Tower is next and it soars into the image on a close horizon as if crossing the crest of a hill. There, perched on the teetering edge of an ancient cliff-face, a tower for books. It's safe, they put supports in, and we can explore and sense the aromatic age-old papers that clump on the many rows that fill every aspect. Shimmering day-glow notations frolic like singing birds as avenues of drawn out articulation span ever onward.


An interesting sample rings out among effective sounds of computer-like interactions. Telephonic whirs glisten behind bell-like forms which glide effortlessly between forests of charming intention. Liar, liar, shining bright takes us on a swift journey through a separate perspective. Roaming (in the head) takes an inward mirror and bends it into abstraction. With all the frightening circumstances we silently acknowledge each day, our head roaming is at the mercy of the world. It can be quite scary in there.




Rampette takes us into a watery and tranquil array of mutated sounds. Oddly panning amplitudes create patterns in a spiralling well of droplets and depth. Bass scratches buzz along cavernous walls in snoring rasps as jumpy melodics glitter with ghostly luminescence. As the album finishes on Mostly We'll Forget, huge deep fingers creep inward and stop in strange blots of memory. A distant gravelly seashore vibrates with moving water before the silence takes a hold.


You can find A Billionth of a Second by Dogs Versus Shadows on Bandcamp


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