Evolution is a necessity to survive in this world, yet perhaps that’s also a matter of which one we’re referring to in this case. As far as creative ambitions go, the Los Angeles experimental noise-pop band Dummy have made for the one of the more remarkable listening experiences to behold ever since they dropped their first two EPs into the void of 2020 — a static-hissed recharge on krautrock and art-punk melding in new age textures in a manner that dared you to over-simplify it as mere shoegaze revivalism — and have since emboldened the hues in their niche entertainment, though not at the expense of limiting its free flowing energy.

On the other hand, evolution can be a conduit for evil, destructive ideas enacted on the behalf of mankind as justified necessities. This last decade has brought enough red flags into the equation to call into question, especially in the hand’s of corporate tech bro oligarchs and government goons looking to hasten progress on artificial intelligence and the seediest webs of the Internet as a weapon of control and influence, all at the deterioration of societal fabric, natural resources, and the very art (and its intrinsic value) which serves as a lens of pure reflection on humanity.

do you love the color of the sky?, Dummy’s third studio album — and first since leveling up to seminal indie rock independent Polyvinyl Records — takes into consideration both the positives and negatives of the above in what can be described as their most ambitiously designed album to date. What makes it this impressive in its many, many layers of sonic impressionism is that in spite of all of the darkness it pulls into its aura, the five-piece of vocalist and synthesist Emma Maatman, vocalist and guitarist Nathan O’Dell, lead guitarist Joe Trainor, drummer Alex Ewell, and newest member in bassist Lance Umble still bring you into a world that levitates above that harmful energy.

A balancing fusion between hyper-kinetic and hyper-color softness are at the core of the 10-track listen that ultimately translates into an explosive kind of ambient pop. Again recorded with shoegaze scene recording soothsayer Joo Joo Ashworth, the vividness within Dummy’s sensory detailing continue to illuminate itself, working wonders as the band extracts breakbeats and rhythm moving at a ray of light, a disintegration of synth work (“Song of Mana”,) and Trainor’s mind-bending ability to loop droning guitars (“N of 1”) seamlessly around spangle (“Omen Globe”) and wishy sparkly (“Touch the Perfect Speed”) of these songs. They’re built fully on elements of noise yet present themselves as cool-soothing meditative punk experiences.

There’s some severe substance behind them that feeds the conscious while appealing to the calming of it just as well. Opener “April Limousine” hears Maatman pondering damage done to the Earth’s climate through its changing air like a safekeeper of all that is good in nature, and again delivering a broader spectrum warning on it all in the spectacular flashes of rolling storm clouds on “Squeaky Wheel” (that this comes on the heels of the post-Madchester bursts of the art deprecation material void of “Full Spectrum Dominance” is *chef’s kiss*.) On “Alluvial Fan”, Dell whirrs over free will and the true cost of surrendering it to our screens for the sake of perceived convenience, all which add up through the stroke of the listen’s tripped-out chime.

Dummy do that thing exceptionally well in this space few others can without sounding performative or too on the nose, and that’s creating music that’s both progressive in its pursuits on sound and in delivering a message. With art surviving centuries as the medium for getting important questions in front of the state of its surrounding culture, do you love the color of the sky? asks these of you while giving you the sensation of being beyond the atmosphere of it.

Highlights: “April Limousine”, “Alluvial Fan”, “N of 1”

Dummy’s do you love the color of the sky? will be released October 16th on Polyvinyl Records.

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