Built on dynamic guitar textures, emotive vocals, and a balance of introspection and surging rock catharsis, Endless is the resonating new album from Tyson Dickert. The Michigan-based artist caught our ears with two albums last year; Beneath the Stars, We Dream of Tomorrow’s Sun immersed with a sprawling instrumental rock sound, while An Endless Voyage on the Astral Sea followed up with a similarly dynamic rock allure, there bolstered by occasional vocals. Endless continues to expand Dickert’s sound, especially honing in on songwriting, expressive guitar work, and vocal additions within compositions that embrace atmosphere, texture, and heartfelt sincerity.
Exemplary of Dickert’s ability to maneuver from haunting introspection into more ardent ferocity, “Awake Inside a Dream” commences Endless with climactic vigor. “Sleep all night when the lights are on,” Dickert’s vocals let out, paired with pulsing guitar distortion for a spirited sense of charisma; his vocal work delights throughout the album with its melodic, passionate presence. “I feel it starting in the back of my mind,” vocal contemplations continue, capturing feelings of a restless mind and ensuing inner doubts. “In the Quiet Machine” arrives next, blaring with a guitar-fronted immediacy and colorful rhythmic peppiness to start. Dickert’s knack for evolving, sating songwriting shows here as well — seamlessly navigating between those moments of ardor and “ground shivers underneath” post-punk nostalgia, showing enjoyable shades of The Chameleons UK there.
Endless doesn’t let up in its engaging songwriting and eclectic tonal flair. “Waking from a Fever Dream” is fittingly named in its dizzying shifts between heavy rock grittiness and understated, nocturnal movements — evident in the “I watched you disappear again” vocal melancholy. The subsequent “Remember Who We Are” also excels, with its “as the darkness disappears” lyricism exuding an optimistic vibrancy, culminating impactfully into vocal reassurances. Balmy acoustics appear thereafter — reminding me fondly there of Radiohead’s “Nice Dream” — before shifting cohesively back into the chipper, jangling guitar tones. The album succeeds in both brighter successes like “Remember Who We Are” and more brooding intensity in the vein of “Dust Before the Embers,” where thrashing layers of guitar distortion and steady vocals coexist into serene displays of intrigue.
A strong one-two punch closes out the album, with the hard-rocking “Hollow Sun” embracing guitars above all else in its darkly invigorating production, while finale “Dissolution” succeeds in another soundscape entirely, as gentle piano and pit-pattering percussion lead a lushly absorbing piece that feels designed for reflection and finality. By the album’s end, Endless leaves a lingering impression that rewards close listening and affirms Dickert’s continued growth as a songwriter, unafraid to balance power with vulnerability.
