For the past five years, New Jersey-based musician Dw. Dunphy has left his unique signature on mid-fi pop and explored the sonic possibilities of the film score. On Modernism, his 12th record, he combines both missions, crafting a carefully composed record of 80s-inspired synth-pop that's as emotive as it is transfixing.Recorded entirely in a home studio, Modernism pushes the borders of the pop song into cinematic terrain and transforms scores into fodder for the radio dial.For evidence, look...
For the past five years, New Jersey-based musician Dw. Dunphy has left his unique signature on mid-fi pop and explored the sonic possibilities of the film score. On Modernism, his 12th record, he combines both missions, crafting a carefully composed record of 80s-inspired synth-pop that's as emotive as it is transfixing.Recorded entirely in a home studio, Modernism pushes the borders of the pop song into cinematic terrain and transforms scores into fodder for the radio dial.For evidence, look to "Election Year," whose catchy refrains are reinforced with swelling synth-washes and a multi-tracked chorus of honey-dipped voices. Or, take the barnburner "Your Saturday Sins," which features a drum-propelled chorus, as well as crunching guitars and a brief reprise of faux-jazz horns.On the record's second half, Dunphy blurs the line between song and soundtrack as he unfolds three scores from an imaginary film.With Modernism, Dunphy has created a lush, textured work that owes as much to the prog-rock leanings of King Crimson and the comforting melodies of Lennon & McCartney as it does the work of Brian Eno, Angelo Badalamenti and Blade Runner-era Vangelis.For Dunphy, modernism is a multi-faceted affair.About Dw. DunphyDw. Dunphy is a musician and writer living in Red Bank, N.J. He has recorded a dozen solo records in as many years. He published a novella, "Drivers of the Plague," and his writing has been featured in PopDose.Dunphy's "an excellent storyteller and communicator that infuses his creation with great music that explores modern prog-blues."- MusicTAP, on Proud Sons of the Suburbs (2004)"A fantastic soundscape you can escape from this messy world into"- Punk Planet, on Nightmare Variations (2003)"(Buckaroo) ends up being that album that makes you listen to it over and over."- The Montclarion, on Buckaroo (2001)"Dunphy seems to do his best work when confronting (synthetic sounds) head-on, trying to find the organic and the human somewhere underneath the layers of machinery and computer-assisted noise."- Delusions of Adequacy, on Crazy Talk (2005)
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