We review the debut dreamy single, "Wrath," released on Jan 12th by Dorvin Borman.
If you’ve ever laid on the floor and dissociated while blasting your favorite record in the heat of summer, you’ll find that LA-based Dorvin Borman’s “Wrath” perfectly captures that feeling with a plodding, wistful dream pop instrumental, complete with chorused guitars and far out vocals.
Fans of Cocteau Twins, Toro y Moi, Washed Out, and Steve Sobs will definitely find a lot to love on this cut, which features a lovely array of lo-fi sounds and effects.
Programmed drums begin the song, with a vibey pitched down snare, searing hi hats, and a big messy sounding reverb’d-out kick, for an overall warm and goey lo-fi rhythm section. Warbly electric guitars follow suite and create subtle movement, sometimes utilizing slightly uneasy melodies to create an anxious atmosphere.
Borman’s vocals are coated in a thick cloud of reverb and delay through the entirety of “Wrath,” invoking a style not unlike Toro Y Moi’s Chaz Bear, as well as recalling the melodic sensibilities of an older Washed Out track (if they used way more chorus pedals). Unless you’re listening close, the effects can mask the specifics of Borman’s lyrics, but it never feels like a cop-out production technique, and the longing-filled melodies work beautifully with the dreamy instrumental.
At the 2:43 mark, the drums suddenly lurch into reverse and spark an instrumental jam from 2:47 to the end, with a wavy, modulating synth, warmly pitch shifting in and out of focus, as chorused guitars sparkle.
On “Wrath” Borman makes a beautiful dreamy debut, and if this is any indication of what future “cloudy dreamy woozy songs about anxiety” we’ll get to hear from them, we’re all ears.
Dorvin Borman
A 25-year-old multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer based in Los Angeles.
