Mixture of Frailties – kyle bobby dunn (2025) – Album Review

Album: Mixture of Frailties

Artist: kyle bobby dunn

Release Date: August 25, 2025

Canadian artist Kyle Bobby Dunn has had a lengthy career working in the ambient and drone domains. From the early ADAT recordings for Music for Medication to the highly regarded From Here To Eternity, the works are very personal, taking from life experiences and creating a sonic background for replaying the memories in your head. KBD leaves no instrument neglected, pooling his skills as a multi-instrumentalist to get the most out of a full studio or even simple field recordings processed through a variety of effects. 

Kyle Bobby Dunn – Mixture of Frailties

Initial feeling: This latest album is catering to liminal spaces and still environments, when all others have wandered away, leaving you to ponder the stillness of the air. This is not a warm-sounding drone album, but nor is it dark or ominous. While you get some larger sounds that build up, nothing bursts or changes in an unexpected direction. It is a constant movement of slow string tones that occasionally bend slightly to gloomy notes. As if you take out Sunn O)))’s distortion and slow things down even further, you’ll get a better understanding of KBD’s scene-setting. 

Repos: Cold front, inching slowly in the stereo field. It does not speed up or jerk in some odd direction. A constant reverberation and electrical hum only begins to show a hint of musical expression in the last quarter, which warms the atmosphere slightly. 

As If We Were Ghosts of Summer I & II: These two tracks alone could be a strong release, but they fit extremely well with the whole album. The low amp hum and cold crystal sound of the guitar is reminiscent of summer days of yesteryear. Perhaps this kindles the feeling of distant memories, even though only a single season has passed. Part I has a slightly lighter mood, while Part II is a bit louder, which conveys the effort of trying to hold on to that memory of summer. 

Registered Without Ends: The rumble and metallic ringing cloud up the aural field as the slow guitar playing tries to edge its way through. Just as you think it starts to clear up, the static and resonance peaks push the slow melody back down in the mix. The tug of war continues until the lower amp noise dominates and then trails off. 

This release is dedicated to someone close to KBD, which seems like a fine tribute. Fans of his work and ambient/liminal drone music will find this a solid release to add to their “staring off into space and contemplating the meaning of things or the lack of meaning” playlist.