Way Dynamic Is Letting It Flow, And Good Things Are Happening

Way Dynamic is a funny moniker for a band so chill. Dylan Young has been recording under that name since his university days at RMIT in Melbourne about a decade ago, and the project has ramped up in the 2020s with a trio of albums crafted in tandem with Good Morning's Stefan Blair. But things really picked up with last year's Massive Shoe, a casually excellent '60s and '70s throwback that evokes everyone from Paul McCartney to Nick Drake to Talking Heads.In 21st century terms, Way Dynamic reminds me of a cross between Tobias Jesso Jr.'s sincere Nilsson/Newman pastiche and Mac DeMarco's playfully vibey indie soft rock. He was supposed to tour with Star Moles this fall, and there's definitely a similarity in the way both acts channel old-school influences into modern music that feels slightly out of time. But the more time you spend with Massive Shoe, the more you start to recognize Young as his own distinctive talent, rooted in the classics but unmistakably himself. His salt-of-the-earth songwriting, thoughtfully dreamy disposition, and devotion to analog recording add up to an irresistible, compulsively listenable experience. This is an album you can really live with.A lot of peopl...