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Dykehouse:
Midrange
Midrange is the kind of record that plays in the record store and you cant help but ask the clerk what it is. Another guy behind the counter shrugs and says, I dont know; we just got it in todaypretty cool huh? You nod your head three times in agreement. You want to be cool and come up with a direct influence for the record, but you cant. The swirling guitar coming out of the speakers mystifies you to the point where you temporarily forget about your adoration for My Bloody Valentine and Galaxie 500. So, the voice in your head tells you to just buy this record because, a) it will satiate your 80s nostalgia for quirky, fuzzed-out and danceable music and, b) you are supporting a man whose sole purpose in life is to play music by himself in his bedroom-come-studio. With this record, Michael Dykehouse shows how easy it is to be a mastermind of electronica, but he shows how difficult it can be as well. Unlike the countless others who dont know what theyre doing in this phenomenon known as laptop rock, Dykehouse is one of the few who actually knows who his influences should be. He raises the ghosts of the Stone Roses with One More Day and Burden of Proof while paying homage to the Jesus and Mary Chain with Drown Inside of Me. The other laptop rockers out there get caught up in trying to be clever by adding musical layers, causing irreparable damage on the old ears. Dykehouse has no problem with keeping things simple when they need to be, but he also knows how to add texture when his recipe calls for it. The entire album is bursting with lush melodies and hooks that can be chalked up to reverence for predecessors, namely the Pet Shop Boys and New Order. On its face, Midrange nears perfection, and the only drawback is in knowing that seeing Dykehouse live in concert could be disappointing unless he had an actual backing band. Nevertheless, this little problem can be avoided, because it is just so easy to get lost in the transcending nature of this record.
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