Dummy is a noise pop/indie psych Los Angeles band, comprised of Emma Maatman, Alex Ewell, Joe Trainor, & Nathan O’Dell. Dummy has all the makings of a modern cult band. Formed in late 2018, the Los Angeles group have evolved noticeably in a short span of time, leaving behind the shivering avant-folk of their first EP and lo-fi video game music of EP2, recorded on an iPhone. Their debut full-length, Mandatory Enjoyment, is just as voracious, merging the band’s key influences from 1990s noise-pop and early electronic psychedelia with ambient interludes that add welcome dynamics between bursts of frenzied instrumentation. You could call it “record collection rock,” but it’s also one of this year’s most consistent debuts. Emma Maatman’s droning organ is a hallmark of Dummy’s music, filtering through almost every song on Mandatory Enjoyment. When combined with her sundazed, deadpan vocals and drummer Alex Ewell’s endlessly cycling rhythms, they sound like they’ve intently studied the Stereolab catalog. However, the band of self-professed music nerds are just as likely to name-drop bossa nova post-punks Antena, new age godfather Laraaji, or the original LA jangle-pop group, The Byrds. Dummy’s brand of drone-pop is intended to be blissful and spacious rather than dour and claustrophobic: “We love the idea that you can make layered, complex, chaotic music but not in the pursuit of it being difficult or abstract,” they have said. Dummy’s dual guitarists Joe Trainor and Nathan O’Dell (both former members of Baltimore band Wildhoney) inject the album’s noisiest songs with jolts of distortion. “Punk Product #4” is the first time we hear them let it rip, before the brief, scrambled solo at the conclusion of “Daffodils” that sounds like Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan kept on a short leash. The latter song leaps out of the tracklisting, bookended by the field sample interlude “Unremarkable Wilderness” and thumping, Silver Apples-styled motorik of “X-Static Blanket.” This clever sequencing makes Mandatory Enjoyment’s louder passages pop and the quiet ones feel deeply hypnotic. There are more artists with the same name: 2. Dummy is a Japanese male vocalist and member of the bands ProjectJAM (a cover band of JAM Project), GLAND ZERO and GOD SILENCE. He's best known on the doujin music scene for his many guest appearances in rock songs from the doujin music circle IOSYS. 2. Dummy has been a punk rock staple in the Chicago music scene for years. They combine thundering bass lines, mammoth guitars and vocals that are aggressive yet melodic. Best described as post-punk, the label is a bit misleading. At times tuneful, they also are capable of an all out musical assault that leaves the listener’s ears ringing and their insides rumbling. The lyrics come from the gut, but are still smart enough to avoid the usual Rock ‘n Roll clichés. They have been the opening act for legends such as Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins and Buzzcocks, to name a few. They have also amassed their own loyal following throughout the Mid-West and beyond. And their live shows can only be described as an energetic, gleeful slam over the head. Dummy has released 3 records. Starting out with the EP Underwhelm, which was followed a year later by a full length CD Dank. A few years and a few drummers later (isn’t that always the case?), a third CD Hang 'em High was released to rave reviews. New material is currently being worked on for a soon-to-be released CD.