Dessert? This is a Whole Meal: a Listen to Dissonant Dessert’s Upcoming Album, “Pray You Don’t Become a Man”
It’s weird.
It’s REALLY weird.
And it’s gorgeous.
Twisting and turning through the backroads of harmonies, textures, and subjects, “Pray You Don’t Become a Man” makes stops in places that hint at Zappa, Santana, Coltrane, Paul Simon, Thundercat, and a whole litany of other artists in a twisting fractal of jazzy, blunt-lyric’d tunes. There’s a diverse cast of featured artists that contribute tasty tidbits to this fantastical stone soup of an album.
Texture is one of my favorite things. I especially enjoy the plunking, wet sounds of marimba and other pitched percussion. This makes “Fucked” easily one of the best songs on the album for me. From it’s thundering 70s cinematic interludes, to its chromatic vocal lines, to its delicious irreverence, “Fucked” is one hell of a track. It’s fun and psychedelic. It whispers and screams. “Fucked”’s position right smack dab in the middle of the album marks the perfect transition into the latter half of the album, when “Pray You Don’t Become a Man,” the title track, comes creeping in with a brooding saxophone whine.
Multi-instrumentalist and (in my opinion after hearing this) actual wizard Eric Novak is the brains/backbone of Dissonant Dessert, with an impressive list of album credits to his name: lead vocals, tenor saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, flute, oboe, heckelphone, bass clarinet, electric bass, Wurlitzer, Fender Rhodes, piano, organs, synthesizers, marimba, vibraphone, melodica, celeste, sheng, accordion, didgeridoo, harmonica, and percussion (plus mixing). I, being a music major who is fascinated by obscure instruments, even had to Google really quick to make sure a “heckelphone” was a real instrument and not a sly credits joke. (For all interested, it’s similar to an oboe) In addition to his musical prowess, Novak is a huge part of the Chicago musical scene. I see him everywhere, from shows to just sauntering down the street. Novak has been a facet of so many musical projects and , while he shines everywhere else, really highlights the extent of his myriad abilities on “Pray You Don’t Become a Man.”
As the notes on the album say, “Pray You Don’t Become a Man” is: “An album about praying mantis sex, gender, toxic masculinity and consequence.” Forthright statements about sex and experience are abundant. Gay praying manti (mantises?) condemn their doomed brethren, preferring to get head instead of getting beheaded. Orgasms become dreamstates. This album encompasses both the great and terrible things about sexuality and relationships to oneself and others with a backdrop of lush instrumentation and surging swells of psychedelic soundscapes. Nothing is left to question here, but you will leave the album with many questions.
As the track closes on a dreamy, swirling note — echoing between your ears —everything calms and slows. “Pray You Don’t Become a Man” is expertly curated, with a clear narrative in both sound and lyrics. I don’t want to spoil anything more about the album because it is an album that absolutely demands a listen (or several) to be fully appreciated and digested. This album unequivocally has my stamp of approval, and if you don’t lend your ears to the wildness that is “Pray You Don’t Become a Man,” then you will be sorely missing out.
“Pray You Don’t Become a Man” is an album three years in the making and will be released on May 23rd, 2019 with an album release show at Hungry Brain in Chicago.
Listen to “Yeah, But Who Cares,” one of the singles from the album, here:
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