Kyle Bobby Dunn is a minimalist composer from New York, whose album A Young Person's Guide To... showcases some brilliant sonic textures and calming tones. A Young Person's Guide is a collection of Dunn's digitally released album Fervency and gathered recordings from the same period. The album is divided into two discs, totaling to nearly two hours in length.
The first disc (containing Fervency) opens with "Butel", a 17-minute piece that if only heard through small doses would be underwhelming. However, sitting through its entirety, you'll notice some sonic motifs that are very faint and hidden behind the single droning note. Another faint addition to the piece is an orchestral loop that fades into the song, overcoming the drone. "The Tributary (For Voices Lost)" follows the same formula, except the orchestral moments accompany the drone more than they do fade over it. "Promenade" loops a stunning violin(?) melody for its 9-minute duration and incorporates very subtle found-sound, and the closer for the first disc "Small Show of Hands" could quite possibly be the most quiet ambient song ever placed in one's ears but by no means in a negative manner.
The second disc, though it is separated from the Fervency disc, follows the same exact flow and formula as it. All of the instruments are very understated and creates the same subtly orchestrated mood as heard before. Though my description of the second disc may seem underwhelming, I would consider the use of the same structure as consistency rather than monotony. The only tracks that deny the structure are "Empty Gazing", "Last Minute Jest" and "Sets of Four (Its Meaning Is Deeper Than Its Title Implies)". "Empty Gazing" seems a bit more reminiscent of a 70s synth-ambient piece than everything else, however it remains orchestrated by classical instruments. The track builds and oddly enough becomes the loudest composition on the entire album, incorporating some field recordings (possibly the sound of wind blowing) and is abruptly cut off by the next track "Last Minute Jest". This track is one of the oddities because it doesn't entirely have an airy vibe, and the sound of keys being pounded is heard. "Sets of Four" could be considered the "ballad" of A Young Person's Guide, but the somber piano playing is obscured by background noises and the overall fidelity of the recording.
The album closes with the track "The Nightjar" which is possibly my favorite track on the album; as most of the album is, the main instrument is indecipherable and hard to understand what's being played. However in this track I get the feeling that a bowed guitar is the base of the song for some reason. The other selling point of this track is its melodic complexity; in comparison to the opener "Butel", this one shows that its variety is worth the extensive length. It ends with a very faint note and a recording of a man aggressively asking about someone looking at themselves. A Young Person's Guide To Kyle Bobby Dunn, being close to two hours in duration, is a great introduction to Kyle Bobby Dunn as its title suggests. Though it may be a bit much to listen to at once, this album definitely shows sonic depth and could even work well as a soundtrack to your dinner party.
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