by Brett Abrahamsen
Any incel slander of multi-instrumentalist Erica Dunn’s involvement in Tropical Fuck Storm can be easily dismissed by anyone who has ever listened to the band, especially their excellent new album Fairyland Codex (which contains Dunn’s strikingly mournful standout “Bye Bye Snake Eyes”). If that’s not enough, any lingering suspicions can be completely cast aside by listening to Turning Yr Back On The Dolphin, her most recent release as Palm Springs. This album proves, beyond any doubt, her songwriting talent.
Tropical Fuck Storm are arguably the greatest band to form in the last ten years. Dunn deserves a considerable amount of credit for this. The band - as most readers of this site are presumably aware - emerged from the ashes of Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin’s previous band, The Drones. The Drones released an intense, original, and terrific debut album, but their sound eventually grew stale (despite occasional moments of demented brilliance - see “A Moat You Can Stand In”). Bringing Dunn to the fold in TFS revitalized Liddiard’s career. Her distinctive melodic absurdity led to fascinating tracks like “The Future of History” and “Antimatter Animals” that would have been unthinkable from The Drones.
Hence it’s no surprise that Turning Yr Back on the Dolphin reveals a formidable songwriter. There’s not a bad song on this record - “Waiting for the Gate” is probably the highlight - but even the weakest track (“No Contest”) is quite solid. It would be difficult, in fact, to name another contemporary songwriter who displays such mastery of the form. She has absorbed the lessons of Townes Van Zandt and Joni Mitchell and created a batch of impeccable songs. In fairness, the record is not perfect - Dunn is not a great singer per se, and the instrumentation is neither sparse enough to be raw and compelling nor dense enough to be overwhelmingly powerful - but the quality of these songs make it well worth a listen. Great titles, as well - “Lay Your Eric Burden Down” (which sounds nothing like The Animals) and “Your Ashes, My Tree” being among the best.
These songs are so good, in fact, that one almost wishes she had saved them for a Tropical Fuck Storm record. One wonders what the band could have done with them. As is, it’s still recommended to TFS fans - and/or fans of singer/songwriter music in general.