Driving late at night deserves its own soundtrack where not just anything will align with your cells and activate the parts of your brain you need for the journey. The spacier the better, with the stars and light glare from the road mesmerizing, putting your imagination in a place you can’t access at any other time than this.
“Certain Uncertainties,” the second full-length from death room duo Dream Unending, fits the bill entirely. Vocalist/drummer Justin DeTore and guitarist/bassist Derrick Vella take a lot of different turns, too, not just making distorted chaos but also delivering some of the dreamiest desert music that only would hit best at midnight. There are sections that have far cleaner guitar playing than harsh, and they bend through ideas and gray matter with an ambitious, sometimes improvisational aim that cools your insides and expands your mind.
“Blinding Allure” drips open as elegance glimmers, the crunch then entering, though the cleaner guitar tones add a level of jazzy coolness. Growls cloud as the notes bend, guitars bubbling into psyche territory, the push getting deathier as surly leads feel dark and surfy. The playing envelops, gliding through cooler waters, howls rumble, and everything fades into the vastness of the stars. The title track has guitars exploring the outer reaches, a nighttime feel falling and settling, horns pumping as we move into the expanse at dusk. Dreaminess penetrates as the drums blister, acoustics wash over reddened flesh, and the instrumental cut calmly subsides. “Strained Sincerity” opens in electricity, growls clawing, leads gliding into a steamy atmosphere that coats flesh. The playing gallops as the harsh vocals punish, sinister riffs get even darker, everything heating up and threatening to boil over. Melodies bleed as the stars descend, growls lash, and the final moments burn.
“Rubato” is an instrumental piece, and it enters amid drums crumbling and guitars glowing, a further jazz-inflected cloud hovering, the playing feeling sun-stained on a later afternoon. The pace sweeps and encircles, guitars catch fire, and a thick glaze leaves a cool coating. “I Carry Your Burden” basks in acoustic and gentler singing, hitting higher register, feeling like it’s peeling back layers of AOR glory. In a good way. The playing is dusty and active, guitars boil more aggressively, and the drums echo as everything fades. “Causal” is the 11:08 closer, guitars slinking, the sky illuminated, leads swaying through bustling drums. The leads swelter and enters noodling territory, again in a good way, as your mind sprawls and searches, howls crumbling as the tempo begins to hulk. The guitars cut a new pathway, a dose of thrashiness makes flesh bruise easily, and everything takes off one last time, sweeping through fire and wrenching throbbing nerves.
“Certain Uncertainties” is like a space craft hovering in the desert, an alien experience built on heaviness at its core but also willingly sojourns through the universe. Dream Unending never did their brand of death doom by painting inside the lines or using predictable colors; they always hinted so much more was possible from these two. And now that promise pays off with this expansive record that also insists that their limits creatively do not exist.
For more on the band, go here: https://www.instagram.com/thedreamisunending
To buy the album, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/dreamunending
For more on the label, go here: https://www.20buckspin.com/
