Today, A Beacon School – also known as the experimental dream pop project of Brooklyn-based multi instrumentalist Patrick J Smith – returns with the gorgeous new single “Dot,” his first release in nearly three years. “Dot” follows Smith’s stunning full-length debut LP Cola – first digitally released in 2018, and then reissued and pressed to vinyl in 2019 – which was an album that never stayed still, in the best possible way; tirelessly alternating between synthwave and glitch pop, math rock and shoegaze, Smith’s tonal narratives were sprawling, atmospheric stunners that always seemed to flirt subtly with catharsis, but yet always made sure to return back to a sense of calm. For us, Cola was the musical equivalent of the sky after a chaotic mid-summer storm, your eyes still glued to the soft blue and greys painted haphazardly onto the clouds, the thick, potent smell of rainwater lingering in the air; off in the distance, traces of iridescent light, but they’re still just muted and pasteled possibilities.
So, what would happen if you boiled Cola down into a syrupy concentrate? Most likely, “Dot.” Smith explained the further meaning behind the new single, which tantalizingly points into the forthcoming sophomore full-length just on the horizon:
“Dot” is a song about seeing patterns in your life emerge but feeling helpless to change them. The song oscillates between these moments of unfiltered wonder and inspiration, and the immediate skepticism that follows them.
There’s a beautiful, deep, cinematic quality to “Dot” that makes it perhaps more akin to a performance art piece rather than song (as is the case with much of A Beacon School’s discography). At just under five and a half minutes, Smith effortlessly creates a stunning, multi-layered daydream-like narrative, opening with stark, sharp synth that alludes to this aforementioned sense of oscillation, painting on stable percussion and guitar plucks with careful, meticulous hands. The entire operation feels dire, desperate, and delicate, as if one ill-timed flick of the wrist would make everything fall apart. But soon, it all settles like sediment at the bottom of a lake, allowing Smith’s vocals to echo, commenting on this metaphysical process: “Light shifting/ While all the rest fills in slowly.” “You find your head fizzing softly/ And this all feels brand new,” he laments split-seconds before the ouroboros finds its tail, the oscillation starting all over again.
“Dot” is out now.
P
photo courtesy of artist
kid with a vinyl 