Dance Myth is the latest project from Dan Smith who also creates ‘lo-fi emo hip-hop’ using the name Listener. Dan recorded eight albums in the hip hop duo Labklik and three albums in the hip hop group Deepspace5. Dance Myth channels music which he calls “Talk Music.” The artist is also a painter and a mental health therapist at his practice in Kansas City. The idea/mantra he has used since his early days in making art has been: “Making the music that you are going to need, but you just don’t know it yet.
A strummed guitar leads us into `Gentle Gentle` as we enjoy a kind of stream of consciousness which veers between unerring vulnerability and more robustness. A churning riff and some organ like keys get onboard to expand this piece. It’s a positive message of taking time to look about and love what`s around you and yourself despite the difficulties this world holds. A church like organ opens `The Light` which appears to be about life being a journey to be lived rather than a problem to be solved. It seems to glow as piano keys merge, a song of resilience and strength.
`Little Bird` is about the passing of the artist father, the family were in a car accident together and Dan`s dad died. There`s a jews harp and whistling throughout this heartbreaking but surreal kind of eulogy. Birdsong and a tender guitar sequence guide us into `Waking Up To Your Island` which refers to a “failure miracle” which is a concept that reinterprets failure as a positive, transformative experience, suggesting that setbacks can lead to unexpected benefits, growth, or a deeper understanding of oneself or a situation. A haunting trumpet hue joins intermittingly adding a further poignancy.
`Make it Until You Make It` has strummed and electric guitar and may be about that Latin phrase “Carpe Deum” or seizing the day as life isn`t a rehearsal. An accordion is often a symbol of cultural identity, heritage, and community so `The Accordion Life` could well refer to this concept. The track is one of the most musically melodic with tinkling key like sounds and guitar chords aplenty along with some flute like echoes.
`Playing Pretend` is quite manic, agitated almost frantic and seems to hint that we all wake up with the same hopes, fears and concerns but really need to grasp life and not listen to those conceited enough to appear to know better. There`s an evocative ambience to `Glass Maze` which creates optical illusions and challenges for those navigating it, a kind of metaphor for coming together to create a better environment rather than being sidetracked.
`Dry Country` has a rolling rhythmic drum beat and a kind of nu jazz vibe, an imaginative shared inner monologue that may indicate mortality and that you`ll never be prepared for the end or for when The Pale Horseman arrives. Woodwind sounds and wind chimes introduce us to `Read This Before You Die` a dreamy appealing auditory underbelly allows a discourse on grasping life, taking personal responsibility and control of your own destiny.
This release closes out with the title track `The Shapes We Make` which has an almost distant and remote feel and could be about encouraging communal support and how the artist fits but maybe doesn`t fit into this model.
The Shapes We Make` is a fascinating listen, a kind of poetic self-empowerment affirmation or self-help mantra set to music and will hopefully at least leave you with some food for thought. I`m sure we`ll each take something different away from this offering and will interpret it in many diverse ways.
Rating 9/10
