Clearing

Hyd

Hyd is the pseudonym of one Hayden Dunham, who was the face and engineer of the multi-modal project QT. It was through that project that they formed a relationship with futuristic pop producers SOPHIE and A.G. Cook. QT has been on the shelf for for many years now, but back in 2020, Hyd reemerged in the music game, appearing as a guest on Cook's last few projects. Now we have Hyd's full-length debut which features many production contributions from Cook as well as the late SOPHIE. In addition to those two exciting names, Clearing also features contributions from Caroline Polachek, Easyfun, and Jónsi & Alex Somers. Even though I wasn't very familiar with Dunham's work previously, the credit list piqued my curiosity way too much for me to ignore.

Initially, I thought I was heading for disappointment as Clearing begins with two of its worst tracks right out of the gate. Trust and Fallen Angel are terribly bland and colourless which is shocking since Cook and SOPHIE share joint production credits. What's worse though is that Dunham's vocal performance is really not that strong either, employing a kind of apathetic, talk-sing delivery. There's also a fairly dry vocal treatment which is pretty unbecoming of anything out of the PC MUSIC camp. All these elements together make for a really drab way to start the record. Although, we see immediate improvement on So Clear thanks to a much more bombastic chorus, a great vocal melody, and a more laboured vocal treatment. It took a little while, but I feel like I'm starting to see some of Hyd's personality.

Following this we get the bedroom pop, somewhat ambient Oil + Honey. At times, this track can feel quite down-to-Earth and modest with Dunham's shy, breathy, and submerged vocals, but then it can feel like a pretty dream sequence once we hear the plinky child's piano, lovely string pads, and Jónsi's boyish croon supporting in the background. I would say the vocals here are again quite understated, but I find myself overlooking it in this context. I actually find this song to be quite charming. Breaking Ground is the brightest hyperpop tune thus far and for awhile I was unsure why I felt so connected to it. As I'm writing this and reflecting, I realized this reminds me a lot of Airhead, one of my absolute favourite tracks from not only Cook's Apple project, but in the whole hyperpop genre. As it turns out, Airhead interpolated melodies from this song; mystery solved. I'll also say that the vocal performance on this chorus feels much more impassioned. The strong claim of "you knew I would" is the most extroverted and confident Hyd sounds across this entire experience.

At the halfway point, we get a little experiment in the form of Chlorophyll. There's some grungy guitars, some bit crushed claps, and a spiteful vocal performance that is probably on the same energy level as perhaps Olivia Rodrigo's good 4 u. I dunno, it was the first thing that came to mind. I don't mind the track, but perhaps would've liked to hear some more fully fledged production. I appreciate the experiment, but it does feel a little half-baked. Going in to the second half of the record, we come across some of the more understated material that Clearing has to offer. Among them is The Real You which I can single out to be my favourite on the record. I really like the natural sound of the toms that build the patient groove, I like the richness of the bass, and I like the reverb sizzle that Dunham's voice is treated with. The chorus is filled out with some nice icy, crystalline instrumentation, and the synth solo that follows has a peculiar microtonality that sounds both wrong and right at the same time. In addition to the great production, I also feel that at its heart, The Real You is also the strongest written pop tune of the bunch. We end the record with the Caroline Polachek produced Afar and frankly I'm quite impressed with this track too. I didn't know Polachek had production chops like this as I'm more familiar with her talents as a vocalist. She manages to create a wonderfully moody atmosphere and Dunham uses the opportunity to again use this talk-sing hybrid to much more mysterious ends.

Hyd's Clearing does get off to a really rocky start. However, beyond the first two tracks I can certainly see a lot of merit in Dunham's music. At times the vocals do leave a little to be desired, but I do think they perform with just enough attitude and personality for it to make sense in context. Perhaps I was also looking for something a little more colourful and aggressive on the production end given that SOPHIE and Cook's names are heavily attached to the production. Maybe that just wasn't the vision Dunham had for their sound and I totally understand wanting to carve out their own space in the PC MUSIC world. Considering that this is Dunham's debut album, I find myself quite impressed even though I still see room for improvement. I will be curious to see where they decide to go next.