The Line of Best Fit review on Lumiere - Dustin O'Halloran

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Dustin O’Halloran – Lumiereby Finbarr Bermingham on 08. Mar, 2011 in Record Reviews

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It’s ironic that the only thing the human race can be relied upon to do consistently and inunison – growing old – is the one thing many of us would prefer to avoid. Too often, signs ofageing are viewed with suspicion and contempt; a sign of weakness. But with maturity,comes many accepted virtues that radically change how we view the world and how we liveour lives. A fleck of grey in your hair may be enough to send you hurtling towards thepharmacy, but realizing you’re not the kid who piles his plate sky high with swill at a buffetanymore brings gratuity, too. The awareness that less is sometimes more is arguably the

most pleasing facet of growing older. Taking infinite pleasure from things you scorned in thepast, like sitting still, or a nice hot cup of tea becomes an essential, guilt-free part of life.

And so, over the years, such changes affect our listening habits too. Our childhood ears arefilled with kaleidoscopic, Kool Aid coloured sugar trips. Our teens are often soundtracked byangsty, loud and raucous noises, until most of us diverge. If you’re reading this, the chancesare you have followed some meandering indie path that will continue well into later life; ashave I. But as the years roll by, this sense of less is more becomes increasingly prominent onmy musical radar. Lyrics no longer earn the primacy they once did. A clever arrangement canpack just as much feeling as a turn of phrase and if a picture is worth a thousand words,then what price a devastating chord change?

Berlin based American composer Dustin O’Halloran is skilled in the art of extractingemotion. His compositions are subtle, yet powerful. Lumiere, his first release for FatCat’s130701 imprint, glides along over nine tracks, pushing buttons, suggesting sentiment, butnever forcing one in particular. The album is a chameleon: whatever your mood, listening tothis will allow you to wallow in it. Whilst this could masquerade as background music for anypurpose, there is a deceptive intensity here that warrants continued listening,, a trait sharedacross the finest contemporary composers, from Richter to Arnalds, from Chauveau toMuhly. Only once you’ve been sucked in, do you realize the depth of the rabbit hole you’reoccupying.

From the opening track, ‘A Great Divide’, O’Halloran raises the concept of thaw: the icytinkling of light percussion, washed over, like daybreak, by the warmth of rising strings andsparse piano. It’s evocative and it’s brilliant. Even having played this album through thefreezing, dark winter, the suggestion of spring is never far from the listener. Throughout,there is the uncluttered feel of a new start, breaths of fresh air and life. ‘We Move Lightly’ isloaded with hope and anticipation: the rising piano arpeggio being drawn towards somethingspecial and invigorating by the strings that surround it. The simple, sextet of notes thatmarks the climax of album centerpiece ‘Fragile No.4′ is breathtaking.

That O’Halloran conveys all of this so minimally, is startling. What he does seemsparadoxically raw and contained. The tracks of Lumiereare bursting with ideas and swathes ofpassion, yet are kept in check scientifically and methodically. As a singular piece of music,you’ll have to go a long way to find one more engulfing than this: this album will consumeyou.

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