Arrington de Dionyso

As vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter for Olympia, WA new school atheists Old Time Relijun, Arrington de Dionyso has always strived to separate himself from the city's burgeoning indie pop by integrating increasingly experimental tendencies into his band's brand of post-punk. The release of his tenth solo LP finds de Dionyso as conformist, injecting a chunk of worldly melody into his recent love of jazz-drone. Moments into Malaikat dan Singa, the listener is hit with "Kedalaman Air," a loose, rhythm-heavy Spanish bomb that finds de Dionyso twirling wordless melodies over sharp, angular riffs. By the time the album hits the halfway point, the listener is well aware that de Dionyso finds a greater challenge in merging old sounds than he does overthrowing them. As songs like "Mani Malaikat Window" and "Rasa Sentuh" replace throat-singing and bass clarinet with guttural growls and off-kilter rhythms, Malaikat dan Singa shows de Dionyso as an artist choosing to recycle standards over ideas.