Noah Dillon: Kill The Dove

Each of Noah Dillon’s albums and EPs seem to capture a specific moment in his life. It’s understandable, then, that his debut album ‘Kill The Dove’ is a snapshot of life in lockdown, but perhaps more importantly, life in love. The discourse between these two themes—love and isolation—I’d say is the guiding force of ‘Kill The Dove’.

A relationship can seem one way in a specific context, ie. lockdown, but changes when it’s exposed to the outer world. What happens then? This is the journey Dillon traces throughout the record, second guessing himself along the way, creating a narrative that is completely fluid.

Although it’s the second track on the album, this journey begins with Nothing Matters; a euphoric and boisterous pop song about being in love — the only offering on the album without any real darker undertones. Here, Dillon presents a snapshot of love in a bubble (love in lockdown) and the feelings of untouchability bound to emerge in this environment.

From here, however, a darker feeling of self-awareness and second-guessing begins to permeate his still-catchy-as-fuck songwriting. Drifting Apart, for example, is the perfectly heartbreaking follow-up to Nothing Matters. The vocal melodies and instrumentation remain insanely infectious, but the careless romanticism of Nothing Matters is traded for a conscious internal struggle.

This struggle bleeds into Broken But Working (a collaboration with Illuminati Hotties’ Sarah Tudzin). What begins as a tender indie-rock tune quickly becomes a pummeling post-punk track. With its huge frantic ending, the track suggests—both lyrically and sonically—that an acknowledgment of your own selfishness can lead to some kind of reckoning within yourself.

This is juxtaposed perfectly by the blissful introduction of Comfort Is Not The Reason (Kill The Dove); a moment of quiet reflection that ultimately leads to a feeling of strength in one’s self, felt through the affirmation “comfort is not the reason to love me.”

Dillon’s internal tug-of-war is captured perfectly in the titles of the album’s two final songs, All My Love Has Gone Away and Don’t Go Away. The latter contradicts the former. But this contradiction is the greatest part of Dillon’s music. He’s a guy just trying to figure his shit out, and he’s documenting the whole process with some killer tunes.

Go give the album a listen. It’s well worth your time.

Noah Dillon is playing at Mary’s Underground on August 26th. Grab tickets here.