Brian Hulick’s output as DoF is often labelled as folktronica. However his songs, at least on Red Pine Pasture, suggest that his sound is far wider than this term can convey. There’s an intense amount of detail here, layers upon layers of electronic sound all striving to be heard.
Red Pine Pasture consists of six new compositions, and five remixes from his previous album Sun, Strength and Shield. The leftfield acoustic pop of Hulick original ‘The Thrashing’ pairs a scratchy acoustic guitar with Brittney Zafonte’s dreamy vocal delivery. It’s reminiscent of XO-era Elliott Smith, albeit more upbeat with the sounds of squeaking strings and fret boards playing off one another.
‘Proli The Impostor’ amps up the glitch-pop elements with intermittent skittles of cut up vocals, synth and drum machine. It could easily slot in next to early Four Tet material. ‘Reality is Phonetic’ turns the sound on its head again, more IDM than any of the other tracks here. Hulick’s originals are generally stronger than the reworks, though Set In Sand, Juxta~Phone and Low In The Sky do turn in some cute renditions of Hulick’s source material. However, it’s Crillix that truly delivers as remixer with ‘The Light Village’, jumping around between glitches and delicate piano excerpts.
Listening to Red Pine Pasture as an entire piece is the best way to become acquainted with DoF’s sound. The songs, although often stylistically different to one another, sit together naturally as a whole rather than plucked out individually. There are many sublimely pretty and delicate moments on the album, but something is missing amidst the dense layers. Melody is Hulick’s strongest asset, and sometimes it feels as though it should be left on its own to do the talking.
Alexandra Savvides
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