Thomas, Fred
Those Days Are Dust, Dream Erosion, Part Ii
Though he's more widely known for the easily digestible indie pop of his bands Idle Ray, Failed Flowers, and Saturday Looks Good To Me, Michigan-based artist Fred Thomas has an equally entrenched footing in experimental sounds and abstract instrumental music. His 2020 album 'Dream Erosion' was a collection of languorous synth atmospheres that washed by in soft fragments. 'Those Days Are Dust' is the second collection of Thomas' synthesizer pieces, this time taking a turn away from the gentle, sleepy glow of its predecessor for an approach that's spare and absorptive. Where 'Dream Erosion' was made up of fully arranged songs, the process for 'Those Days Are Dust' was different. Usually working with a single synth and a few different analogue tape delay units, Thomas recorded experiments with loops and minimal composition daily throughout 2021. This resulted in music with a wintery feel, skeletal and solitary sounds akin to Hans-Joachim Roedelius' reflective sketches or the loneliest passages of Aphex Twin's 'Selected Ambient Works' catalogue.