Lee Ranaldo & The Dust - Acoustic Dust

Well, one would be right. A document of live acoustic studio sessions from April 2013, Acoustic Dust draws from Ranaldo’s latest two solo outings and a handful of covers. By and large, the material from the earlier of Ranaldo’s albums, Between The Times And The Tides, sounds the least reworked, the album a relatively muted and, at times, pastoral affair, but also the most comfortable in this setting. Nothing is really revelatory given the limited departure from the originals, but Ranaldo does assert his aptitude with acoustic material, particularly a flair for psychedelic overtones. With its increased emphasis on groove and texture, the more recent Last Night On Earth material sounds blunted and neutered. A song like “Key/Hole” that was built to accentuate Ranaldo’s deft handle on dynamics – an attribute undoubtedly borne of his time in Sonic Youth – all but loses its definition and, like its album compatriots here, flounders and meanders.

So, the disappointment with Acoustic Dust is that it is, at least, above-average material rendered in an average, sometimes colourless, way. Moreover, there simply is nothing wrong with Ranaldo’s performance here – his vocals, while lacking prowess, sound fine and the execution is rather tight – it’s just that Ranaldo’s material here doesn’t lend itself well to the acoustic-based medium. On a related note, the covers are interesting choices of song, but rather unremarkable as well. Ranaldo’s voice is nowhere as distinguished as Neil Young’s or Sandy Denny’s, leaving their tunes feeling somewhat bland; however, his warm, easy-going nature is a fine fit for his cover of Michael Nesmith’s “You Just May Be The One”. It’s a welcome surprise, actually, that any member of a noise-rock titan like Sonic Youth could offer an approachable stab at country-rock. It certainly isn’t something you’d be expecting from Thurston Moore or Kim Gordon anytime soon.

Acoustic Dust is for those who, at a bare minimum, enjoyed Ranaldo’s latest solo efforts and are interested enough to hear what some of them might sound like in a different setting. I’d reckon the casual fan will find this a mixed bag, leaving the real interest to the more devoted; I’m just not sure how many Lee Ranaldo solo devotees there really are out there but, for whoever they are, it’s a fine stop gap for the time being. Methinks this would have fared better having culled together the best half dozen tracks here for a tighter-sounding EP or perhaps as a fan-club release (do they even do those anymore?). Kudos to Ranaldo for giving it a shot, though; if anything, Acoustic Dust keeps with his sense of adventure and reemphasizes a side of an artist far better known for his other.