The songs of Jon McKiel are born of the bruised marshlands of remote New Brunswick, from the craggy shores of the Atlantic coast; places where nature is a powerful wonder and the made-world is in slow decay. What might otherwise be construed as paranoia or pessimism, is softened by a genuine sense of longing and tenderness, and world-weary poetics combine natural elements with bits of fantasy and lucid dreamscapes. As Dusted, Holy Fuck member Brian Borcherdt explored material light years removed from the frenetic electronic excitement of his dancier main band. The offhand minimalism of 2012 debut album Total Dust morphed into more of a full-band approach on 2018 follow-up Blackout Summer, and third album III changes course once more, returning to the hushed indie folk of Total Dust... even with a full arrangement that includes horns, percussion, and backing vocals, the album retains a haunting and bittersweet melodic simplicity that recalls Daniel Johnston's emotional nakedness. Borcherdt and his family relocated from Toronto to rural Nova Scotia during the recording of III, and the shift from city life to a slower, more natural environment manifests both in the patient, organic presentation of the songs as well as the actual sounds of nature that sometimes show up in the recordings. III is an understated affair, but the experimental production touches that helped define earlier Dusted albums are still there, even if they're used more sparingly and are harder to locate when listening without headphones. Borcherdt's move toward low-lit loner folk puts his songwriting gifts in the forefront, but III loses none of the mystical haze that has been imperative to Dusted's sound since the beginning. ~ Fred Thomas