Sometimes the best path forward is to look towards the past, and it seems the key is to update whatever the point of reference is you’re taking from. That’s what Los Angeles-based Dummy seem to be doing on “Nullspace”, the lead single off their just-released sophomore album, Free Energy. The follow-up singles, “Nine Clean Nails” and “Blue Dada” only further prove this point. To mention the obvious influences would be a disservice to the five members of Dummy who are clearly on a mission to remind their fan base and any new fans, which I’m sure there will be plenty once they listen to Free Energy, that the album format is the ultimate form of expression for a musician. Free Energy is the statement that mining the past doesn’t have to be a bad thing, so long as you inject it with your own identity and add some personality to the proceedings.
Currently, the trajectory to success for a band or artist is to capture the attention of a potential new audience with ten second TikTok or Instagram reel. That initial impression may (or may not) lead the individual to a streaming service or YouTube to check out the full song. Most of the time, that doesn’t lead someone to listen to the full album. In turn, most acts today aren’t focused on making a full album that fits together and makes sense as a cohesive representation of the project. Dummy is rebelling against this ideology with Free Energy. The album captures you with the opening track “Intro-UB” and doesn’t let you out of the journey they set up for you until the closing track. It’s not a surprise that Dummy just released an album so striking, yet cohesive; they’ve laid down the groundwork for this since their initial self-titled EP in 2020. There were traces of a band well-versed to the previous era of “music enthusiast” but always through their own singular filter. This continued with their second EP (Ep2), and was fully realized on their 2021 debut album Mandatory Enjoyment which was equal parts electronic, drone, and guitar-driven dream-pop-gaze. On Free Energy, the band add a dance-y element that sounds both refreshing and necessary for the group to evolve into the next chapter of a very impressive career so far.
Listen to Free Energy below:
The band will be celebrating their record release with a show at the Lodge Room in Los Angeles on September 7th with a stacked lineup (Corridor, Time Wharp, Blimp, Lockslip, DJ GMO) which will be followed up with a U.S and European tour:
Free Energy Tour Dates
Sat. Sept. 7 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room
Wed. Sept. 11 – San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt
Fri. Sept. 13 – Portland, OR @ Lose Yr Mind Fest
Sat. Sept. 14 – Vancouver, BC @ The Pearl
Sun. Sept. 15 – Seattle, WA @ Madame Lou’s
Wed. Sept. 18 – Reno, NV @ Holland Project
Fri. Sept. 20 – Sacramento, CA @ Cafe Colonial
Sat. Sept. 21 – Oxnard, CA @ Mrs. Olson’s
Thu. Oct. 31 – Breda, NL @ Mezz
Fri. Nov. 1 – Utrecht, NL @ ACU
Sat. Nov. 2 – Groningen, NL @ Vera
Sun. Nov. 3 – Nijmegen, NL @ Merleyn
Tue. Nov. 5 – Copenhagen, DK @ Loppen
Wed. Nov. 6 – Stockholm, SE @ Hus 7
Thu. Nov. 7 – Oslo, NO @ Blå
Fri. Nov. 8 – Malmo, SE @ Plan B
Sat. Nov. 9 – Berlin, DE @ Synästhesie Festival
Sun. Nov. 10 – Warsaw, PL @ Chmury
Mon. Nov. 11 – Vienna, AT @ Arena
Tue. Nov. 12 – Salzburg, AT @ Rockhouse
Wed. Nov. 13 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F
Thu. Nov. 14 – Annecy, FR @ La Brise Glace Festival
Fri. Nov. 15 – Dijon, FR @ Le Consortium
Sat. Nov. 16 – Rennes, FR @ Kool Thing Festival
Sun. Nov. 17 – Clermont Ferrand, FR @ La Coopérative de Mai
Tue. Nov. 19 – Marseille, FR @ L’Intermédiare
Wed. Nov. 20 – Lyon, FR @ Sonic
Thu. Nov. 21 – Bordeaux, FR @ Iboat
Fri. Nov. 22 – Angers, FR @ Joker’s Pub
Sun. Nov. 24 – Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire
Tue. Nov. 26 – London, UK @ Moth Club
Wed. Nov. 27 – Bristol, UK @ The Lanes
Thu. Nov. 28 – Coventry, UK @ Just Dropped In
Fri. Nov. 29 – Newcastle, UK @ The Lubber Fiend
Sun. Dec. 1 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Mon. Dec. 2 – Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
Tue. Dec. 3 – Leeds, UK @ Headrow House
Wed. Dec. 4 – Manchester, UK @ Yes
Thu. Dec. 5 – Brighton, UK @ Dust
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