If I had to take my guess Dirt is the project of one person. I’m not sure who but the music was apparently written and recorded during a period of insomnia spent reflecting on a winter in the Hudson valley. The dark, abstract and dissonant music on the album Glad to be Here actually kind of makes more sense if put into that context. If you ever have had bad insomnia for a long period your perspective can start to change and almost certainly towards the abstract, detached and melancholy. The music feels like all of those things
The music is unequivocally lo-fi and the artist wouldn't have been able to get away with quality if was attempting any other type of style. I wouldn’t have been able to understand a single word on the EP if it wasn’t for the lyrics on Bandcamp. The person singing often sounds like he is on the verge of dying and barely has enough energy to get the words out of his mouth, The album starts off with “Scout” which is borderline terrifying especially if you are on psychoactive drugs. It combines a vocal recording, sustained ominous pads and an impending sense of doom. It leads into “This Memory of Smoking” which contains heavily reverb laced guitar and vocals (where are hidden in there somewhere). You won’t understand what he is saying but you can read the nightmarish lyrics. He sings, “it’s morning and my face doesn’t sparkle there's a coursing in my vein and it isn’t blood and that's me in the doorway turning off the lights.” The ominous vibe continues with “Midwest.” At the center of the song is a haunting piano. The reverb from the piano and vocals is a bit much but passable. “Valley's Bed” is a very atmospheric, ambient track that feels like the ghost of a shell of a forgotten dream. The closing track “A Deer Died Today on I-95” follows a more standard song structure. There are recognizable chord changes and there is even what you could call a chorus. Overall, I dig this vibe but there is plenty that could be done to get it to the next level such as fleshing out some of the ideas and getting a boost in the production. At its best Glad to be Here reminds me of Bradford Cox’s more ambient type songs such as “Green Jacket” and “Calvary Scars.” Not a bad start.
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