by Dan Goldin (@paintingwithdan)
You’d be remiss to call Los Angeles’ Dummy a prog rock band and yet they are a shining example of a band who are constantly progressing. With each successive release the quintet has evolved, bringing with them what they’ve accomplished in the past while adding new layers to their collage of gazey post-punk, psychedelic ambiance, and provocative trip-hop. Their third full length album, Do You Love The Color Of The Sky?, due out October 16th via Polyvinyl Records (Anamanaguchi, Squirrel Flower, Ian Sweet), goes further down the rabbit hole, adapting the “baggy” sound of Free Energy into something more outré, leaning into the band’s electronic impulses imbued with both textural drones and sun-soaked pop. There’s an anxiety to the album’s lyrics, but a resplendent beauty in the construction of the music.
“Full Spectrum Dominance,” the record’s lead single, introduced the album with a celestial energy that bounced on manipulated rhythmic pulses, trip-hop dexterity, and Madonna friendly vocal melodies, but it’s more a piece of the puzzle than a tone setting statement. “April Limousine” and “Alluvial Fan” serve as the album’s opening one-two punch, a pair of songs that balance upbeat tempos with drifting atmospheres, fusing together meditative soundscape and club hits in a way that feels natural. “April Limousine” comes in flying with drums clipping at galactic speeds, but the rest of the band simply won’t be rushed, and that’s where the magic lies. Nothing is quite as it seems as serenity and chaos meet in a place of harmony. “Alluvial Fan” works on a similar principle, with a boom-bap drum beat filtered through an otherwise reflective saunter. As we’re pulled by opposing forces, Dummy achieve a mystical sense of comfort. For a band that prides themselves on live performances, it will be excited to see how these work in that setting.
The members of Dummy were kind enough to share some of the music that influenced their upcoming album, do you love the color of the sky?
Joe’s picks:
Goldie - Live on Resident Advisor
Alex showed me this right before we started writing the record, and it blew my mind. The first thing I noticed was how joyful it felt, everyone was smiling, and just embodying the songs with ease. Seeing a band playing that kind of music, killing it when normally it’d just be someone with a laptop, a singer and would be boring/lame and not remotely exciting. There wasn't this OVER-reliance on backing tracks, just endurance and precision. That's what I wanted to aspire to with the new Dummy record and live performance: just to show you some shit you haven't seen 10,000,000 times. All the tunes they play are from his masterpiece, Timeless.
There's a handful for live performances: one was Bjork playing “Violent Happy” on a TV show, Portishead playing “Stangers” at Reading in ‘94, Locust playing “Your Selfish Ways” on a German TV show, and Seefeel “Polyfusion” in Russia or something. Obviously all these songs rule, but the live arrangements really inspired what we could achieve on a recording and how to challenge ourselves to push what we are realistically capable of. Those bands pulled off something exceptional.
Windy and Carl - “Drawing Of Sound,” “A Dream of Blue,” and “Antarctica” (The Bliss Out, Vol. 2)
A lot of my ideas for guitar sounds came from trying to create drones inspired by Windy and Carl, but then editing them like a remixer would, hard-cutting these beautiful, dense, glacial walls into a new context, using them as textures against something purposive and danceable. I wanted to replace all the synth scapes and ambience with guitars on this record. But I also wanted to be able to use these drones in rhythmic ways. There is a deep sincerity, an emotional pull to their music, and Dummy as a band wanted to make something more emotionally resonant on this record. Over the last handful of years I've dug even further into their discography, like their Bliss Out series contribution (which Alex is a huge fan of), and the A Dream Of Blue EP which has some of my favorite stuff from them. Also there is a whole world of bands in Windy and Carl's orbit that really influenced the record as well, like Accelera Deck, Landing, Azusa Plane, Transient Waves, and Amp—all great bands in their own rights, with discographies I’d recommend anyone to explore.
ALEX’S PICKS:
Tara Clerkin Trio
A stand-out band, jazzy electronic post-pop, all of their records are fantastic. Their EP from 2023 was a huge inspiration when we were writing our new album. We also had the honor of playing a cool festival with them here in Los Angeles (shoutout Open Melody). Really incredible live band as well, skilled players, specializing in live sampling and loops, very talented folks. I really appreciate the patient quality present in their music, deceptive simplicity, very meditative and hypnotic.
Kiva (1997)
This gorgeous album became a sonic touchstone for us while working on our album. Sonically it’s a beautifully detailed ambient junglist dreamscape, but the falsetto vocals bring a soulful pop catchiness to every song. I first heard about it when it was reissued last year and was shocked. This record is deeply underappreciated, and should be mentioned alongside classics from the era. I also just love how hi-fi and immersive everything sounds, deliciously relistenable, definitely play this one loud on some nice speakers.
EMMA’S PICKS:
During the course of writing lyrics and melodies for the album I was genuinely not listening to much music other than our own demos! I’ve been pretty politically charged and spiraling about the state of the world, if that’s not apparent in the lyrics. This album was kind of a further leap forward in terms of my comfort in vocal performance. I don’t consider myself to be the greatest singer by any means, but I do think we all can have a unique voice and point of view. I’m more “influenced” by that idea… kind of breaking out of my shell a bit and really singing like “myself.” I tried to bring out some latent influences, whatever female greats that I idolize and reside deep in my psychic musical core… Björk, Madonna, Alanis, Fiona….
But for a contemporary example: an artist we played with last year was New Orthodox. He plays solo, and the experience he created in the room the night I saw him was unforgettable. I was completely floored by his strength and his vision as a performer. We were playing Tubby’s in Kingston - a legendary but small and intimate venue—and you could have heard a pin drop in that room when he was playing. While I do think he’s got a very strong and specific point of view, if I had to compare New Orthodox to anyone, it would be the GOAT Scott Walker, so take that for what it’s worth. He’s got a voice like a fucking freight train, it’s crushing and funny and powerful, and he lets his freak flag fly.
Highly recommend: New Orthodox - Bull Market on Corn
NATHAN’S PICKS:
“No One Left to Follow” by Slam
A good pal played me Slam’s “Alien Radio” a few years ago. That’s all it took to dive into the duo. When I found this track I fell in love with the vocal delivery. Simply repeating a hollow feeling mantra can carry so much weight. With some heavily delayed cooing over a thudding tech house beat, you have the recipe for groove—a slamming one.
Lance’s picks:
New Issue - Diminished & Transmitting
This is a band that hails from my hometown (Anacortes, WA), and we were lucky enough to play alongside them in the NW in 2025. Many of us have long admired their records, and the opportunity to share a stage with them renewed my perspective.
They are masters of immediacy and intimacy in their songwriting, drawing you closer moment to moment, intriguing you further as the composition is laid out. This is countered with steady, sure and gentle vocal performances that contrast so well to sometimes heavier, granular and immersive textures. This lends to captured, intentional listening, a practice that I’ve been enjoying throughout the process of making this new LP.