Single Review: ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ – Dummy
Single Review: ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ – Dummy This collision of the past and the future conjures up some serious grooves By George Bicknell 27 August 2026 Ahead of their hotly anticipated third album, ‘do you love the color of the sky?’, Los Angeles-based indie pop band Dummy have treated us to a new single, ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’. Building on the caustic yet hazy psychedelia of 2024’s ‘Free Energy’, this new single finds Dummy at their most insatiably groovy and at their sharpest politically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7OQIVHfQ0c Waves of distorted guitars, a steady breakbeat, and singer Emma Maatman’s typically cool performance combine to instantly take you back to some of the best Madchester bands of the early 90’s while still presenting something incredibly pertinent. On crafting the new single, guitarist Joe Trainor said: “I was trying to make something just heavier, and we joked it was our nu metal song. During the recording, we added the tambourine that gives it a more dancey vibe, Deee-Lite meets Deftones.” Emma added, “This is the Technofeudalism bop. Tech billionaires are treating AI like the new Alchemy, using it as a source of power and magic. This supposedly soon-to-be all-powerful technology could not exist without harvesting all of humanity’s intellectual property and collective work. ‘Prima Materia’ is the building block of all alchemical matter, so in the canon of the song, we humans are the Prima Materia.” Dummy – Photo by Kyle Berger The anti-AI message of the song is cleverly captured both through the satirical lyrics and the anxiety the production successfully builds by sticking to the steady funk beat as the guitars warp into a shoegazey wall of noise and Emma’s voice bounces between the headphones. This is a band that not only has excellent taste in their influences but is also incredibly in touch with the here and now, and hearing those two features combine in their songwriting creates something incredibly cool that we can’t wait to hear more of. ‘do you love the color of the sky?’ arrives on 16th of October via Polyvinyl Record Co. You Might Also Like Recent Posts
Single Review: ‘Mobius’ – Cyn Cwsg
Single Review: ‘Mobius’ – Cyn Cwsg Chaotic, energetic and in the best of ways, unruly By Niamh Hughes 27 August 2026 If their previous single ‘Megan Plis’ showed Cyn Cwsg at their most delicate, ‘Mobius’ is the sound of the Welsh quartet throwing caution firmly out the window. The Cardiff-based band’s latest single is chaotic, energetic and in the best of ways, unruly, trading the softer restraint of their earlier release this summer for jagged guitars and heavy drums. There’s something immediately familiar about it too. The confidence of the track, specifically the vocal hooks, accompanied with indie rock guitar carries echoes of what is often referred to as the Cool Cymru era of the 90s and early 2000s – a spinoff from the Britpop fuelled Cool Britannia movement. Cyn Cwsg – Photo by Sam Stevens ‘Mobius’ shows an allegiance to the sounds and off kilter lyrics of the Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci but it does so in a way that doesn’t feel like a complete nostalgia exercise. Produced by Buzzard Buzzard Buzzard frontman Tom Rees, whose production credits also include The Bug Club and Panic Shack, his own style of indie-rock music that almost bursts with excitement is definitely stamped on the track. ‘Mobius’ takes its name from the mathematical shape with only one side and edge, and while referenced indirectly in the lyrics, there’s also a fitting sense of circular chaos to this single. Ideas seem to chase each other around, building towards a final burst of mayhem as spiky guitars and punchy drums reach a triumphant finish. Speaking on the track, the band described it as “A juxtaposition of the mind and something too complex to comprehend (a bit like your brain). A concept of projectile madness echoed through guitar tones and mental drumming. Also just a song about the möbius strip.” ‘Mobius’ is one of those tracks that leaves you with the slightly frustrating feeling of wanting to hear it live. It has that restless energy but also infectious optimism that almost certainly demands a crowd. You Might Also Like Recent Posts