Like many of you, we’re no strangers to the evolved anthemics of Welsh songwriter Anthony Price. A unique talent who finds his sound beneath the creative moniker of Dunkie, Anthony’s singles have coloured our social media pages for a while now, shining a spotlight on his emotive and wonderfully tactile combination of indie rock and abstract sensitivity.
A work of personal and professional triumph, Dunkie’s debut is a wonderfully collaborative affair, built on the hard work of Anthony, his friend, collaborator, and producer Wayne Bassett of Robot Recordings, and the brilliant Michael Gustavius Payne, the artist whose work adorns the cover of the album. One of our most anticipated debut albums, ‘Working To Design’ is a complex and textured journey that delves deep into the human condition, bringing to light heartfelt musings on life, death, love and inevitable loss.
Designed as an immersive experience that goes hand in hand with Michael’s almost surreal artwork, ‘Working To Design’ is quite possibly one of the most intricate, orchestral, and effective releases you’ll hear this year. A structured experience complete with atmospheric introductions, interludes and intermissions, ‘Working To Design’ is an album that demands to be heard in full – it’s not something you can pick up and simply put down. Songs such as ‘The White Hole’ and previous single ‘Can A Song Save Your Life?’ illustrate Anthony’s ability to create textured and beautifully heartfelt melodies that flow and breathe with a distinct emotional clarity, while ‘Rabbit Hole’ showcases his ability to contrast upbeat instrumentation with more poignant lyrics, creating a distinct separation that emphasises both elements perfectly.
Fourth and final single, ‘W.A.L.L.S (Within A Little Love Song)’ crackles and rolls with a subtle nudge towards ‘90s Americana, while ‘The Memory Tree’ embodies raw folk energy, creating a sentimental sound that lingers long after the song has faded. Elsewhere, ‘Sugar’ combines traditional balladry with contemporary electronics to create a unique and evolving sound, before ‘Through Endless Eyes’ and ‘Closure – 1972’ bring the titanic release to a soft and enduring end.
With seventeen tracks to choose from, there is an expansive plethora of styles, sounds, and experiences to fall in love with, and yet through all the diversity, Anthony has been able to create a wonderfully cohesive vision. Combining art and sound is something that many bands have dabbled with in the past, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a finer example of it than ‘Working To Design’.
Although currently unreleased, you can stream the four previous singles, ‘Can A Song Save Your Life?’, ‘Sugar, ‘Rabbit Hole’, and ‘(W.A.L.L.S.) Within A Little Love Song’ on Dunkie’s official Bandcamp page here.
Score: 9/10
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