Dread Fascination on FACEBOOK
This is a project and the debut album from Los Angeles based musician Graham Butler. This album likely has been a long time in the making as I was introduced to Graham with a demo or 2 maybe around 2008 or 2009. I didn't realize he was living out in LA, as back then I saw him and some of his family members at the Liquid Tension Experiment concert in Chicago ("When the Keyboard Breaks," I recall).
But style wise, his music then and in just listening to this now, shares a lot of what many like in modern prog rock. I hear elements of Porcupine Tree and OSI among some others. Textured/Textural rock music with movements and time changes.
The songs I would say found my attention the most in just 1 listening,
"My Disguise" and "Flicker" with some of the big riffs and build ups.
And "Closer and ":Paradise" which have kind of a melancholy about them at points.
The vocals seem to sound like a few singers like Nick D'Virgilio, and maybe the singer from Sound & Shape, who I actually seem to hear a lot of singers who remind me of both of them, which isn't a bad thing necessarily.
01 Calcine Love
02 Dread Fascination 6:08
03 Air Conceals pt. 1 4:16
04 Testify 4:06
05 My Disguise 9:32
06 Sleep Forever 10:28
07 Flicker 4:55
08 Air Conceals pt. 2 1:49
09 Closer 4:32
10 Faith Alone 4:52
11 Paradise 5:26
From the site:
Dread Fascination is the free-to-listen debut album from Graham Butler. It represents a unique approach to concept albums, with no characters and no dialogue; Instead, it attempts to tell a story through different perspectives, bringing to light the thoughts & emotions that come about from experiencing tragic or life-altering events. It explores themes of love, loss, depression, death & rebirth, and the process of finding purpose and fulfillment in the face of life's resistance.
Graham Butler is a Musician/Producer based in Los Angeles, CA. After playing drums and producing records with many different artists for several years, he decided to start developing his own project in 2006. After the attempted suicide of a friend, he was compelled to write and record an album as a reaction to that event as well as his own experiences with depression. The result, after 7 long years, is Dread Fascination.
I will admit, the description reminds me of Neverending White Lights, with doing concept albums with different voices, etc. But musically, I would say they don't share A TON but perhaps with hearing this more, I may trace more than just on the approach to songs/albums and concepts.
