Michigan-based artist Tyson Dickert delivers a riveting rock sound throughout Supervoid, his fourth solo album, balancing brooding passages with bursts of distorted guitar and a strong sense of movement between the two. Written, recorded, and mixed over eight months in his home studio, the album was conceived as a complete listening experience, with each track contributing to its broader arc.
The album follows up Dickert’s previous full-length Endless, which caught our ears earlier this year with its balance of introspection and surging rock momentum. Supervoid continues to showcase his penchant for high-quality, evolving productions, channeling various rock-minded realms and tonal dispositions within a unified, complete sound, which Dickert notes “was written to be played loud.”
Opening the album with stirring rock spaciousness, “Living on the Edge of Forever” is riveting in its various guitar-led passages, from the steady twanging subduedness around the 40-second mark to more erupting doses of distorted fervor, conjuring an early ’90s alt-rock nostalgia. “How could we turn away from this?” Dickert’s delivery exudes an elongated allure, capturing a sense of untapped personal potential in the “a hidden path dwells deep within our veins” line. It makes for a tour de force commencement to the album.
Up next, “Rising with the Stars” dazzles with a more bursting immediacy, the declarative “we are falling through the stars” lead phrase leading into effervescent, clanging warmth. A dynamic midpoint ruminates on how “maybe every life we live, is part of something more” before bass and spacey synths momentarily take hold, between guitar work that spans from brisker jangling to textural distortion. Lyrically, there’s a theme of personal strength and potential, in shifting between grandiose observations of the universe and more intimate urgings like “here we’ll make our stand” and “we are rising with the stars.”
The ensuing “A Small Glimmer of Hope” also delights in its contrasts, from a more debonair lead presence and murky post-punk tinges to fervently expressive harder-rocking vigor. A reference to “the planets all aligned, providing the final test” continues perspectives on fate and our context within a large universe, here tackling aimlessness and yearning for hope. Another standout, “Hold Our Heart to the Fire” fuses panting percussion and twangy guitar forces into descriptions of turning galaxies and how “we are circles in the quiet sky, turning where the stars align.” Starry-eyed synth shimmers and lush guitar meld with contemplative performances for an enthralling sound.
Also stirring is “Into the Night,” whose nocturnal setting is propelled by a serene lead delivery and glistening guitar work, where “every shadow softly falls into the night.” A state of being blissfully in-between is artfully conveyed, with escalating guitars and dreamy synths driving into the “I can see the world through your eyes” feeling of adoration. Supervoid is another thorough full-length success from Tyson Dickert, who continues his knack for absorbing, eclectic rock soundscapes.
