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A mix of veiled threats and bounding guitars, it proves that Dissolver isn't the sound of Iran turning its back on its past, it's the sound of a band finding ways to be more complicated, and accessible, than ever.
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The familiar-sounding song structures are an artfully crafted misdirection.
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On some level, Iran must have been aware of the edginess and mystique surrounding their early music enough to go out of their way to vanquish it, but in its place is something nearly as special.
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Dissolver is a solidly catchy, guitar-driven jaunt, finding equal time for fuzzy rock progressions and slowly sketched, shimmering landscapes.
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Frontman Aaron Aites counters the otherworldly ambience with straightforward strains of classic indie rock (think Sebadoh and Pavement). That combination can be jarring, but mostly in pleasant ways.
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Dissolver sounds like an album made by folks who are mostly sick of challenging convention and just want to swim in something that reminds them of why they love rock music.
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Once producing dense, complex music that rewards each additional listen, Dissolver's content as comfort food for rockists, too quickly sating the listener.
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No longer hiding melodies behind so many drapes of hiss and scramble, Aites has opened things up. The songs feel roomier, the tones brighter, the dynamics more jarring.
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Well, here’s a disappointment so mild I can barely taste it. I think I’m disappointed, maybe, but I’m not sure how much or wherefore.
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Dissolver is easily Iran’s most cohesive album-length statement, and it proves that there is more to the band than idle four-track trickery.
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Under The RadarDissolver is more than impressive; it's Aites' first true masterpiece. [Winter 2009, p.72]
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"The Moon Boys" reins in and polishes lo-fi eccentricities on the Dissolver into a more coherent and easily enjoyable collage of alternative rock, and for the most part, it works.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 2 out of 2
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Mixed: 0 out of 2
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Negative: 0 out of 2
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EricCMar 20, 2009