Dirty synths, creeping melodies, and pulsating rhythms await in the dozen and one songs you’ll hear in the new record Onion Doves from BD Gottfried, but if you’re expecting a throwback to the post-punk grittiness of the 1980s in this all-new listening experience, you’re going to be a little disappointed. Rather than following the trend of his peers, Gottfried is exploring classic alternative rock aesthetics with more of a postmodern sensibility, and it’s resulted in tracks like “Neuropsychopharmacology Jello,” “Followers of Disarray,” “Bathing With The Sinners,” and “Earth and Air,” all of which rank leaps and bounds above similar indie content out right now.
There’s absolutely nothing holding BD Gottfried back against warring with the rhythm in “Three Stories High,” the title track, “Comic Book Messiah” and “Truth, Such a Rarity,” and I think that when considering these songs through the lens of the complete album, it’s easy to appreciate the progressive influence in the aesthetic. This artist isn’t interested in illustrating his personality through lyricism alone – instrumentation, the arrangement, even the production style of these tracks, it’s all presented to express something to us that other songs just can’t. Is it ambitious? Of course, but Gottfried is a player who can chase his dreams without sounding out of his depth.
Listen to Onion Doves on Apple Music
I didn’t know much about this artist ahead of hearing this album for the first time, but now that I’m keen on what he can do when put to the test, I think I’m going to keep an eye out for new music bearing his name in the byline in the future. Onion Doves is stacked with emotion and emphatic confessions, but make no mistakes about it – this is a piece designed to be related to, not studied, which isn’t always the case with progressive music of any quality. BD Gottfried hits this one out of the park, and I’m excited to hear what he records next.
