Dumbsaint – Panorama, in ten pieces (2015)

‘Cinematic’ and ‘soundtrack’ are the corroding tropes we journos have relied on to deal with the ‘post-‘ stuff. They’re our ‘safe words’ when it comes to defecating out forcibly persuasive descriptions for readers. It’s kind of a euphemistic way of saying ‘long and lacking activity’. I don’t mean to indirectly negate the terms, or ‘post-‘ music for that matter. But there is some reality in this.

Enter Sydney’s Dumbsaint, whose sophomore effort Panorama, in ten pieces is, quite literally, cinematic. As is their custom, each track on the album has a synced film component, in a bid to create a multi-platform cerebral experience. Thus, Panorama is not just an album but a feature length film where even the most innocuous segment of musical space has a visual symbol. It’s the icing on every post-fan’s cake.

Musically, Panorama is a sonorous ride that is equally dark and twisted. The ominous opening notes of ‘Low Visions’ suggests that the end will draw but not without inevitable torsion and skew. And, indeed, the various climaxes of Panorama are jarring assaults of metal. The accompanying films add visual complexity to the album. The twisted themes explored in the accompanying films of, say, ‘Communion’ are so unapologetically combined with vivid suburban realism, gives Dumbsaint’s film work the sensibility of a Yorgos Lanthimos feature. Something where insatiable and ruthless animal instincts are hidden underneath idealistic Western living.

Wherever Panorama was born, it was certainly from a hostile and ruthless environment. Dumbsaint transcend the familiar ‘post-‘ platitudes and deliver an experience that bears the darker echelon of emotions, one that will travel far beyond the eye and ear.