Review | “Designed around an internal sense of drama” Talos – Dear Chaos

Dear Chaos is designed around an internal sense of drama. Talos’ third album uses every beat, harmony and texture to instill scale in the music. This kitchen-sink approach pays off, filling every corner of the sonic spectrum. Dear Chaos is a record with an over-arching ouroboros relationship with dynamism.

Indeed, this ebb and flow of Dear Chaos are what draws the listener in. The background and foreground interchange seamlessly on songs like album opener ‘Meridians’. Talos melts all the colors of his sonic palette, including his voice, into that of Dear Chaos’ restless backdrop soundscape. 

In moments like ‘Dance Against The Calm’, Dear Chaos hits a pensive moment of repose that works to draw more attention to the cacophonous passages found at the end of ‘Evening’. Each track is symbiotic, feeding off the arcing energy of Dear Chaos. ‘Farewell Kamikaze’ centers around Talos’ spellbinding vocals, while ‘Firespeak’ uses the same captivating vocal air and surrounds them in impactful drum beats. 

Dear Chaos is an album that leaves its most potent moment for last. Gently set, ‘Crow’ featuring Lisa Hannigan brings Dear Chaos to a thoughtful close. Unveiling the beauty in texture that resides in the album’s background and weaving Talos and Hannigan’s vocals into the reverberating milieu, ‘Crows’ finds its power in the quieter moments. 

And so it goes, Dear Chaos has a tidal sense of melancholy melodrama. Soaring and falling, the music found within Talos’ new album makes excellent use of the artist’s stand-out characteristic, his soaring vocals. Dear Chaos also works to envelop the listener in a world that finds definition with turbulence.