Pleasure Dust

“Dust Yourself Off” is a high-class debut from an act who had not yet quite found the way to shape and mould their influences into their own sound. It was a great starting point and the first of six albums for Fantasy that allowed them to hone a very distinctive style, that made them one of the most popular soul/funk groups of their era.

Swedish metallers BULLET will release their new album, "Dust To Gold", on April 20 via Steamhammer/SPV.

Assembling an intimate set of collaborators from the rock community, Muggs breaks from his usual hip-hop projects and takes a second stab at electronica on Dust. His first attempt was with 1999's Juxtapose, an uneven pairing with Tricky that was dominated by the British rapper's paranoid, druggy sound. Dust is more focused, with Muggs delivering a frequently brilliant collection of dense yet lovely soundscapes. The producer crafts each track with meticulous detail, mixing electronic beats, live instruments, and bizarre samples into epic down-tempo pop. Most impressive is "Rain," a majestic ballad that blends a shuffling beat, orchestral strings, acoustic guitars, and the fragile voice of Buckcherry's Josh Todd into a melancholy gem. "Tears" is a far more menacing highlight, boasting a tense mixture of ghostly female vocals and pounding dance beats. A collaboration with Greg Dulli results in "Cloudy Days," a gritty drug ballad that recalls the menacing soul of the Afghan Whigs' 1965; while the throbbing "Morta" is a seductive, slow burning vamp revolving around moody orchestral flourishes and a lazy tribal drumbeat. "Far Away" finishes the record with a sweeping dream pop coda, slowly devolving from a haze of chiming guitars and buried vocals into a blend of lush synths and chanting.