Shrink Dust
28 April 2014
Sub Pop
3.5 stars out of 5
Shrink Dust is the
fifth LP by Calgarian Chad VanGaalen under his own name. It’s got all the charm
of his previous releases, from invocations of Neil Young’s country leanings to subtle
lo-fi experimentations. When listening to VanGaalen’s music, it always seems as
if he’s your buddy: his music is the opposite of cool and distant, it’s warm
and close. Shrink Dust feels as
buddy-like as any of his previous releases.
“Where Are You?” is a desperate run through a cavernous
haunted house. “Frozen Paradise ” has a groove
that makes it sound like a hand-made and delicate ‘70s funk tune. “Lila” is
Neil Young recording his own version of For
Emma, Forever Ago. After the country-tinged indie folk of “Monster” and “Evil,”
VanGaalen cranks up the volume on the garage rocker “Leaning on Bells.” “Hangman’s
Son” is the closest approximation here of VanGaalen’s most obvious influence, Neil
Young (though he claims to view Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska
With Shrink Dust, VanGaalen
continues to expand his musical palate. While firmly rooted in his one-man-band
aesthetic, he pushes his songwriting into more full-sounding territory. Remaining
eccentric without ever sounding pretentious, VanGaalen’s music here, as
elsewhere, is as captivating as it is powerful.
reviewed by Richard Krueger
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