''Dust'' is the third album by Berlin-based American

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

artist

Laurel Halo Laurel Anne Chartow (born June 3, 1985), known professionally as Laurel Halo, is an American electronic musician currently based in Berlin, Germany. She released her debut album ''Quarantine'' on Hyperdub in 2012 to critical acclaim; it was name ...

. It was released on June 23, 2017 by

Hyperdub __NOTOC__ Hyperdub is a British, London-based electronic music record label and former webzine, founded by Steve Goodman, a.k.a. Kode9. The label was formed in 2004, and grew out of the UK's early dubstep scene. Artists signed to the label have ...

. The album features contributions from Eli Keszler,

Julia Holter Julia Shammas Holter (born December 18, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, artist and academic, based in Los Angeles. Following three independent album productions, Holter released ''Tragedy'' as her first official ...

Michael Salu Michael Salu, British-born of Nigerian heritage, is a creative director, art and photography editor, designer, brand strategist, writer and illustrator. Education and career Born in London, England, to parents from Nigeria, Michael Salu lived i ...

, and Max D among others, and was preceded by the single "Jelly", featuring Klein and Lafawndah.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Dust'' was received positively by music critics, with a

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

weighed aggregate score of 84 out of 100 based on 18 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Ben Beaumont-Thomas called the album "a triumph of

impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

, where the digital and organic coexist in a radically beautiful whole," while naming it

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

." In his review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, Paul Simpson described ''Dust'' as, "very disorienting and not always easy to grasp hold of, but it never comes close to sounding like anything else, and its best moments are highly compelling." Heather Phares described the album in the artist's biography as fusing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

with

avant-pop Avant-pop is popular music that is experimental, new, and distinct from previous styles while retaining an immediate accessibility for the listener. The term implies a combination of avant-garde sensibilities with existing elements from popular ...

. Resident Advisor described the music on ''Dust'' as

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

. Andrew Dorsett of

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fi ...

said in his review that Halo is "crafting a series of drifting

art pop Art pop (also typeset art-pop or artpop) is a loosely defined style of pop music influenced by art theories as well as ideas from other art mediums, such as fashion, fine art, cinema, and avant-garde literature. The genre draws on pop art's ...

pieces that evoke forgotten, buried materials long since fallen into disrepair.".

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

' Joseph Burnett said that "her almost monomaniacal focus on the intricacies of sound since her earliest releases has clearly culminated with this record, one that is in constant flux between joyful abandon and grim introspection, pop-tinged electronica and

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

expressionism." April Clare Welsh of '' Fact'' wrote: "Like Arca's '' Arca'', Laurel Halo's third album also explores the human voice. But while Arca explores largely organic territory, Halo fashions a

musique concrete Musique is the French word for music. Musique may also refer to: Music *Musique (disco band), a 1970s studio band produced by Patrick Adams *Musique, a British dance act consisting of Moussa Clarke and Nick Hanson best known for their 2001 song ...

mosaic of vocal cut-ups and robotic reveries."

Accolades

Track listing

Tracks adapted from

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Dust''.

Musicians

– vocals, synthesizer, piano, vibraphone, guitaret * Eli Keszler – drum kit, dumbek, glockenspiel * Max D – cowbell * Klein – vocals * Lafawndah – vocals *

– vocals * Craig Clouse – wurlitzer *

– cello * Michael Beharie – electric guitar * Diamond Terrifier – tenor saxophone

Technical personnel

* Laurel Halo – production * Cole M.G.N. – mixing * Jason Goz – mastering

Artwork

* Phillip Aumann – photography

References

{{Authority control 2017 albums Experimental music albums Laurel Halo albums Art pop albums Experimental music albums by American artists Electronic albums by American artists Musique concrète albums