Total Dust

The Toronto-based Brian Borcherdt (of mutant funkateers Holy F***) recently partnered with producer Leon Taheny (Final Fantasy) under the moniker Dusted, and together the duo creates murky, mood-altering pop music edged with both unease and wistfulness. Total Dust is built on not much more than hazy clouds of distorted guitar and keyboards, washes of pained vocals (which recall Jeremy Earl of Woods at times), and surprisingly strong melodies. The arrangements are somewhat spare, as are the lyrics, with lines repeated like loops. That simplicity lends the songs a delicate feel. “(Into The) Atmosphere” has a pining sweetness, with whispering acoustic guitars atop a backdrop of muted atmospherics; “All Comes Down” hums with a quiet but fuzz-coated guitar and melancholy, ghostly vocals wrapped in echo and open space. A few other tunes have more meat on their bones, but both styles produce the same result: melodic, haunted pop that has a funny way of burrowing in before you realize what's happened.