Fresh project, dweller. has finally dropped their debut EP All The Things We Carry March 2023, and it’s more than a big deal. Not only has there been surrounding anticipation around each single drop, the entirety of the project is curated by the band members themselves and a team of individuals they all love, making the heart of the project truly thrive. The band has been working on the album for a few years, expressing the consumption of time felt more authentic; “Sitting on it made it feel more like a passion project instead of ‘oh man we gotta get on this clockwork schedule to get music out’, it’s more like; ‘want to feel really good about this?’ which felt a lot more organic.” – Kevin Ultsh (Guitar). dweller. also had the opportunity to reunite and record with old friend Billy Maninno ; “Literally every band I’ve ever been in, we’ve recorded with Billy. My old band was actually his first time recording anything out of his parents basement in 2011. Now he owns his own studio and I’m super stoked to see him doing well in his career, and I was really happy to go back to work with him”. -Kevin. dweller. also pulled together even more of their closest people to contribute to music videos, photography and general support, making All The Things We Carry a further sentimental and creatively indulgent experience
Within personal first-listening experience, dweller. emits passionate energy and witholds an almost inexplainable “classic” sound. All The Things We Carry is a tribute to loved ones who can’t be here anymore, creating a relatable experience drenched in lyricism of grief, frustration and solace. dweller. blessed me with a friendly chat to learn more about the process of creating All The Things We Carry and the bands future plans;
The first single, “Night Theater” grabbed attention through old-timey audio samples and intense visuals portraying the comparisons between emotion and sleep paralysis. “Night Theater” is claimed to not have been planned to be the first track until the added sample, an agreeable creative decision due to the created pleasure of it’s faded intro leading us into a powerful crescendo of a chorus. With the first track itself, it is proven dweller. perfected the album’s structure. “Night Theater” is then followed by “Motion Sickness”, an expression of feeling emotionally exhausted as you continue to live through the motions of time passing with feeling you’re going nowhere – all you seem to be doing is aging. It is worth noting Juan Aguilar cleverly sings in a slower tone during the track, a perfect display of dweller.’s talent of musically-synced detail.
After the rollercoaster of “Leash”, we are hit with the come-down of “All The Things We Carry”. Through compressed and depressed notes, we are confronted with the hard truth of time slipping out of our hands, growing older as more is piled upon us, walking around weathered with all of the things we carry; do we choose “giving up or growing old”?
Finalizing the EP, “In Passing” could be considered the most emotional track of the EP as it contains all contrasting emotions of grieving and the burden of trying to find peace in knowing someone is no longer with you, paired with the pain of the absence of goodbyes you wished would have happened in the way you feel were supposed to. Words of memory and departure are released into the air as a way to possibly spiritually let the person in passing know time will move on, but life is never going to feel the same again. “In Passing” is a reminder that life is temporarily precious, and you never know which moments you will notice life passing by so quickly like “life up in smoke”, and the lingering thoughts of when you will be able to join the one’s who are already gone. Juan starts to scream in expression of everything has to be alright, but it is not ever going to be easy.
Alongside All The Things We Carry being an intensely emotional EP, it also contains unique song writing exemplified in “In Passing” and “Leash”; “Kevin has a lot of history of pulling me back when it comes to songwriting. My background in writing is influenced by hardcore, mathrock, and a lot of progressive metal – some of the songs you hear on the album were actually stuff I chucked over the fence to Kevin and he made them into songs more properly. The one thing I had to get used to is Kevin’s linear song writing, we did it for two songs “Leash” and “In Passing” – where there are no repetitions on certain elements of the song, where others are structured differently with recurring verses/chorus … but those two songs, you can draw a straight line through them.” -Greg
All The Things We Carry deserves listeners attention! The intention and sentiment is largely important, but such a solid first release should also make everyone excited for what dweller. produces next to gain your continuous support. Stream and learn more about dweller. using the links below, and grab your cassettes via We’re Trying Records.
Behind The Midwest Scene 
Leave a Reply