The opening moments of Chasing Gold, the brand new EP from Dustin Tebbutt, are like your first breaths of the sea air after being away from the beach for too long. It’s subtle but familiar, and guaranteed to peel the stress right off of you.
Since he first began releasing music in 2013, this has been the feeling Tebbutt keeps coming back to. His compositions are pure and relaxing, if at times a little heartbreaking. This is more plain than ever on Chasing Gold.
Uplifting and utterly blissful, Dustin Tebbutt’s new EP Chasing Gold examines heartbreak and love with a refreshingly hopeful candour.
Tebbutt’s new EP may sound as blissful as his previous work, but as we’ve learned many a time before, the most serene music can hide its fair share of sadness. Chasing Gold is back-to-back with songs sung for lost love, and the process we go through when dealing with it.
Mopey isn’t the word though, this is anything but. In fact it’s more likely that Tebbutt’s new EP will help the downtrodden climb out of their descent, rather than relishing in it. There’s catharsis to be had here, a feeling that yes, the one you love isn’t with you, but everything happens for a reason and things are going to be ok.
The two part Satellite is of this colour; uplifting and sad all at once. “Can you see the light shine down on all of us?”
As always, Tebbutt’s angelic voice is on high display. His lyrics and range are at the fore, easily holding their own beside Lisa Mitchell’s whispers on Innerbloom. Throughout the EP, instrumentals barely build to anything louder than a flicker, and it’s clear why; Tebbutt’s voice is the most powerful tool in his arsenal, and one he’s spent years mastering the use of.
Another marked aspect of Chasing Gold is its consistency; sonically, lyrically, and emotionally. Presumably due to the fact that Tebbutt wrote the EP in a constrained period of time, each of the songs sit warmly as a full suite, rather than a collage of ideas strung together over years of work.
If love is on your mind for reasons merry or otherwise, Chasing Gold will seep right through to your soul. It’s not a journey you should shy away from either. Pain can heal, as can music.
And anyway, it’s hard to think of anyone who would listen to Chasing Gold without enjoying it.
