Local Review: I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME – GLOOM DIVISION

I DON’T KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME
GLOOM DIVISION
Concord Records
Street: 02.23
IDKHOW = The Brobecks + Talking Heads

“Oh, my God, they found me, I don’t know how, but they found me,” Dr. Emmett Brown says in Back to the Future (1985). I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, often shortened to IDKHOW, is the solo project of Dallon Weekes, an indie-pop artist with ties to Salt Lake City. IDKHOW is captivating the scene with their mix of versatility of sound, which is well-achieved by tying in sounds from the ‘70s and ‘80s, making one almost feel as if they are in a time machine from the future heading to the past. 

A hidden gem on his newest album, GLOOM DIVISION,  is the song “FIND ME.” It has some ambient techno tones that are well accompanied by Weekes’ electrifying vocals. While dissecting this song a bit further, it seems that not only do the instruments tell a tale, but so do the lyrics. “Lonely” is one of the keywords that is recast with emphasis. One can almost digress back into what this song could mean. Weekes has a great way of telling a tale about how the writer is lonely and needs someone to find them, similar to finding salvation to fill the void which would be their “loneliness.” This song is immaculate in writing and in sound—it’s really hard not to dig deep into IDKHOW’s songs, as they can give someone such feelings of determination to know the full scope of his music. 

The exhilarating “DOWNSIDE” has to be one of the most admirable tracks of the album, due to its invigorating speedy tempo. Listening to this song for the first time actually gave me a vitalizing dopamine rush. I can only describe it as a feeling of banging your head, jumping up and down and just really grasping the tantalizing feeling of movement. A similar song to this would be “GLOOMTOWN BRATS”—the bass line in this track is one of the most recognizable sounds. It was so funky and downright groovy. If you really like the bass line in this song, a similar one would be “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen. 

Rock is a genre that gets an honorable mention in this album, as the song “SPKOTHDVL” will have you kicking your feet and vigorously banging your head. The song has a very notable range of tones that highlight the crunchy, overdriven lead guitar fluidly. 

IDKHOW has such a great way of incorporating the alternative glam-pop of the ‘70s and ‘80s. It’s not easy to smoothly incorporate such sounds, but Weekes seems to have truly mastered the key to versatility within his music. Being from Salt Lake City myself, it is so inspiring to see how much music is around our small city and how much music culture is being made all around us. GLOOM DIVISION is available to stream on all platforms and is a great album for anyone in need of a mood lift. –Litzi Estrada

Read more local reviews here:
Local Review: The Plastic Cherries – The Plastic Cherries on the Moon
Local Review: Minute After 8 – Right on Time