Dreamend

Of the three solo LPs the members of Pittsburgh, PA's Black Moth Super Rainbow have released this year, Ryan Graveface's fourth LP as Dreamend diverges furthest from the band's brand of experimental psych pop. Opening the album with "Pink Cloud in the Woods," Dreamend crafts a post-punk lullaby complete with music box-like strings, muted vocals, pulsating backbeats and cricket chirps. Songs like "Where You Belong" and "Magnesium Light" see Graveface returning to simpler modes, delivering straight up pop songs with jagged melodies that slice trough though guzzling rhythms. Graveface makes much use of his banjo, with songs like "My Old Brittle Bones," "Angry Silence" and the epic "An Admission" interjecting said instrument into wild soundscapes full of humming bells, primordial handclaps and unhinged drumming. With Dreamend, Ryan Graveface sets out to give his songs a personality that remains disconnected from his work with Black Moth Super Rainbow. So I Ate Myself, Bite by Bite takes great strides in accomplishing this.