Barely a year after the Duck LP made a strong second impression, Way Dynamic is back with Massive Shoe, a third full-lengther that feels both familiar and freshly adventurous. The solo project of Melbourne-based singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Dylan Young performs eleven new songs about human missteps and communication breakdowns, delivered with lightness, never heavy-handed—the extensive instrumentation approaches perfection.

While this is essentially a classic pop album as it was once intended, you could just as easily call it gritty soul, enriched with unexpected influences from folk, jazz, new wave, country, and yacht rock—one moment reminiscent of The Beach Boys (My Visit (To Hell)), the next of Talking Heads (Ibiza), to name just two examples. Yet the tunes skirt past cliché, shaping a sound that is playful, tender, and strangely elusive, with a key role for the amazing vocals. Opener People Settle Down stands out, sliding into a groove with airy backing vocals. Massive Shoe is one worth stepping into.

Massive Shoe—produced by Stefan Blair and Dylan Young—is out now digitally and on vinyl LP through Spoilsport Records. Performed by Dylan Young, with guest appearances from Lehmann Smith, Stefan Blair, Chloe Sanger, Liam Halliwell, Evan Young, Marie Klaschka, Pierce Morton, Leah Senior, Jack Spencer, James Mannix, Bee Bleechmore, and Jasper van Daatselaar on select tracks.

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