A Young Persons Guide to... Kyle Bobby Dunn – A review in two parts.

Part 1

For a genre with such a seemingly narrow appeal, the world of ambient drone can appear to be a very crowded and daunting place. From the decaying loops of William Basinski, through the classical melodies of Stars of the Lid to the empty horror of Deathprod's aural viruses, it would seem that there are few avenues left for the sonic explorer to probe.

While not really a groundbreaking record by any means, “A Young Persons guide to...” makes a stand in the teeming market place by being both an entertaining and engrossing listen. Kyle employs a patience and lightness of touch in his compositions that give the record a floating, dreamy quality, and there are always interesting moments where the listener can come back to earth. Second track “The Tributary (For Voices Lost)” for example has a drifting cinematic quality before a mournful key change around the 7 minute mark snaps you back to life. This plaintive tone bleeds into the twinkling splendour of “There’s no end to your Beauty”, the heart of real instrumentation mixing seamlessly with computer processed soundscapes.

Taken individually the tracks recall the finest ambient music without being too in thrall of its peers. There are hints of Aphex Twin, Stars of the Lid, Goldmund and others scattered throughout the runtime, but taken as a whole it’s an original and satisfying record that wears its heart on its sleeve. The care and attention over the 6 year span of its creation is obvious from the first listen and even with its hefty run time it doesn’t feel like there’s a wasted second on there. Highly recommended.

Part 2

Excellent double CD of laid back ambience and drone, great for listening to at work or while trying to sleep in a 12 person dorm in a hostel in Warsaw while on a stag do. You can be listening to it for a while, zone out totally then phase back in at another point of the record and I love that. Lovely combination of sounds as well, both natural & computer processed and the crossover is never jolting. If you like ambient music you can’t go wrong here, it’s tuneful, spacious and a breath of fresh air compared with some of the more dark ambient that’s in favour at the moment. GO AND BUY!

Kyle's Myspace

Low Point Records release page

Buy Records at Boomkat