Michael Barrett Dixon - One Way Ticket
Resonance—the first word that comes to mind after giving One Way Ticket, the latest genre-defying album by Michael Barrett Dixon, a detailed listen. The album is vastly different from Dixon’s past releases, and thus, rightfully deserves the seat of honor. Michael Barrett Dixon has toiled with a series of genres with this album. The umbrella one would be cinematic synth-pop. Under the folds, the listening experience takes you through some retro-futurism, followed by ambient electronica and some space pop. The base is built on emotive, atmospheric synth music, with a heavy narrative arc. It starts fresh. With the first song on the album, a layered instrumental, Spaceport, Dixon sets the tone for a sonic voyage. It uses synth-scapes and banks on ambient minimalism, arranging a start for a galactic journey. The track is smoothly followed by Leaving, the second piece on the album. For audiophiles, the piece is fully in the box with analog emulations and real hardware synths. Aka, a perfect standalone score. It builds up the feeling that the album aims for— a cinematic experience. It’s like Dixon is guiding his listeners through a synth-driven land of dreams, perhaps even outer space, evoking a sense of togetherness with the universe. One Way Ticket and Lunar Departure, the next tracks in line, sound like the concept songs driving the album. The pieces are carefully designed with vintage analog synths, modular textures, and clean, dynamic mastering. Dixon takes a break with the successive song in the series, Routines. It is an instrumental that sets the tone for what is to follow, adding a somewhat grim, emotional feel to the experience. Sea of Stars and Light Speed take the chair for their mixing and mastering. The album’s differentiae—being self-engineered and having a balanced stereo imaging—are best communicated through these songs. The record is inspired by a desire to escape. The lyrics speak of the growing toxicity of American political discourse. It has both literal and metaphorical takeaways, and the way it is presented makes it sound more like a reflection, a rebuke of chaos through beauty. The album ends with a trifecta. The last three tunes on the record give us an energetic end that keeps the listeners yearning for more. One Way Ticket gives a melancholic, sci-fi romance vibe. The most satisfactory fit with this would be Blade Runner 2049 (2017). Think of how the more tranquil emotional scenes (especially between K and Joi) would pair incredibly well with the album. The album offers the listeners Dixon’s precision as a one-man production house. This sense is elicited through understanding the way every arpeggiated lead, reverb-washed pad, and sub-bass swell is tuned to evoke movement: forward, upward, and inward.
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