Ah the 90s; Ring Pops causing our index finger and thumbs to stick together, car rides to Blockbuster with the windows down in cyan blue Saturn, and then coming home to turn on our Nintendo 64. Vancouver-based artist Dust Cwaine leads us to a trip down memory lane of weathered white Nike shoes and waking up to Saturday morning cartoons. As Dust Cwaine, the project of David Cutting, steps us into this musical time machine, they present a song crafted by both nostalgic garage sounds from down the block and a hint of blue and touch of new.
“90’s Darling” serenades us with childhood memories and dulcet tones. The acoustic riffs play engagingly amid their 90s and early 00s euphoria. Now, while you may feel tempted to turn on your favourite grunge bands that shaped this era, this track amplifies an anthemic vein of soft rock and alternative music such, brought upon by the likes of New Order, Oasis, and Radiohead’s acclaimed OK Computer, which influenced so many aspiring artists musicians we have the pleasure of discovering here and now.
Stimulating our deepest yet fondest memories with the artist’s lyrics and textured instrumentals, Dust Cwaine worked alongside producer Josh Eastman on “90’s Darling,” replicating the flavours, sounds, and visionaries that came with the decade. Play this song on a weathered stereo or drown out today’s reality with yesterday’s tunes.
“This song brings me back to my childhood, the things that distracted me from the world and shaped me,” says Dust. “It has a sense of longing for sillier times. I really wanted the lyrics to acknowledge the present moment uniquely. When I sing it, it feels like I’m singing into a time machine. Sonically it feels both new and familiar, which was a conscious effort by Josh Eastman, who produced this track. This song sits among an album of songs that are navel gazey. It’s one of many little jaunts to the past we take on the journey that is Arcana.”
Photo Credit: Mac Jefferies
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This track and others featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of August 2022’ Spotify playlist.
