Ringing immediately takes us down unpredictable musical paths from the beginning of “Stairwell.” Its loping chords like a slowcore Pavement and warped dissonance give way to huge, bombastic riffing without losing the casual, slackery attitude for peak moments before sliding back into introspective sketches of song in the outro. The song constantly feels like it’s going to fall over and coupled with its vulnerable and fragile structures there’s a sustained sense of weightiness to the meditative vocal delivery and what some might consider atonal guitar riffs. It shouldn’t work and for many people it won’t if they’re put off by the aforementioned Pavement or when Dinosaur Jr heads into territory disregarding the rules of how melodies should work or the directions rhythms are supposed to go. Much less how homespun and idiosyncratic Duster often sounds and how its own lo-fi splintery atmospheres lend themselves well to the dynamic not being dependent on symmetric song structures. Listen to “Stairwell” on Spotify where you can also find he rest of the Is It Light Out Where You Are? EP which released on August 9, 2023 via Julia’s War and Candlepin Records.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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