Dimples

The bicoastal duo of Greg Hartunian (West) and Colby Nathan (East) have made music together for 15 years. For their third and most focused full length, Dimples displays that they are anything but spring chickies. Past injuries leave scars, old flames leave burns, and memories are little more mental syrup on a midnight sundae.  

Obscure Residue stays true to Dimples’ bittersweet off-the-cuff pop sound while pushing the tempo up a bpm or two, honing in their codeine dream melodies with orchestral arrangements. Psychedelic lyrics reflect on the movement of time, the choices we make, the distractions we face, and the scars we bear.  The humor is subtle, but ever-present–cherished, not precious. Nowhere is this more clear than on “Passage of Time,” the most elemental and stripped down track of the album. Nathan’s voice accompanied by the guitar delivers a personal and resonant message, stating: “Open up/you may get burned/But keep shut/And never even get a turn…There’s no easing the passage of time.” Dimples’ songs comment on the psychic clutter that we collect, filter, and retain or abandon throughout our lives–be it by choice, chance, or circumstance.  

For a band more familiar with questions than answers, Dimples share some glimpses of wisdom that time bestows.  “No room in the heart for always fretting over what might have been/With this ten minutes/Or that left turn…I shoulda known it would be no good/But I didn’t.”  Cheeky lyrics reflect that wisdom lies in the acceptance of ignorance and how it sculpts perception.

Obscure Residue feels lived in–a lifelong friendship–direct and obtuse, familiar yet abstract. Dimples proves that they understand that time proceeds without restraint, and what comes along and what is left behind is less a matter of choice and more a matter of fact. So they sing, “some currents cannot be resisted, they turn you right around.”