The bit of industrial and electronic music that comes issuing forth at the beginning of “Bullet Ride” primes listeners for what is to come. Fast, slow, intense, and more meandering sections all mesh to create a microcosm of the genre. While an instrumental concoction of Dylan, “War Parade” is nevertheless a track that has tremendous narrative qualities. Deftly integrating synthesizers, guitars, and drums into one coherent expression, Dylan gives listeners a reason to continue with “Bullet Ride”. “Bullet Ride” continues with ”Strobe Dancer”, a track that is important not only because it continues with some of the trends that originally opened the disc, but showcases Dylan’s tremendously diverse and intricate takes on the genre.
With a hard, driving beat and guitars and synths that play in between each thumb, this track will remind fans of a Stabbing Westward just as it will Autechre or even “Pretty Hate Machine”-era Nine Inch Nails. “Point Break” bats cleanup, and it begins with a much more in your faced and brash guitar line. This is matched well with a similarly minimalist side that fluctuates in intensity, something that comes forth much more strongly in the disc’s titular track. Different from the other cuts on “Bullet Ride”, the track has a more pensive and careful feel to it.
This slightly more slinky track provides listeners further momentum as they continue on with the album; where many artists are more than content to simply coast through the last half of an album, Dylan’s continually experimenting self makes sure that late-disc tracks like “Slammin’” or “I Am Me” sparkle. Without a voice present to break the flow between these different elements, Dylan is able to show exactly how each constituent element works, and what it adds to the track (and the album). “Bullet Tooth” is tremendously compelling and acts as a blueprint which subsequent artists in the electronic and industrial genres should adopt. I would personally like to see where exactly Dylan plans to go from here; with killer talent to spare, any future releases should be illuminating.
Top Tracks: War Parade, Racing Laguna
Rating: 8.3/10
Brennan Dylan – Bullet Ride / 2010 Self / 10 Tracks / http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/brennandylan /