Out via Blueberry Records on 11 th November, FaltyDL's 'A Nurse to My Patience' was his antidote to
a long and waning pandemic. Best known for his shapeshifting productions, the prolific New England
native AKA Drew Lustman has been releasing explorative electronic music for over a decade, and
although he's switched his sound up intuitively over 5 albums, 'A Nurse to My Patience' marks the
biggest departure yet. Written in between stints of intense writing with Mykki Blanco, it will be the first
time he has penned lyrics and sung on a record. "The monotony of waiting and power of isolation
proved a strong catalyst in my creative process, and so it took me places I've never been before," he
explains. "I will make dance music again, but I have really found myself on this new album."
There was a time in 2017 when Lustman almost quit music. He was frustrated with the stagnant
patterns of making dance music, trying to get gigs, and repeating the process. "My last album
'Heaven Is for Quitters' was a mountain I had to climb, and when I reached the top, I realised I wasn't
all that happy," he concedes. "I knew I needed to be honest with myself and what I wanted to present
to the world." Working with Mykki Blanco impacted his life and changed the way he makes music, and
stepping away from a genre he felt so comfortable with allowed him to dig a little deeper. "'A Nurse to
My Patience' is momentous to me on a personal level. I am singing, playing instruments, and
collaborating with legends and heroes of mine."
Featuring Brad Laner of Medicine, album opener 'XTOC' swirls into a cacophony of off-kilter-drums
and alarming distortion. A radical departure from his trademark electronica, 'Berlin' sees Lustman's
vocals taking centre stage for the first time. "This song is about going on tour, becoming someone
else, getting high and feeling anxious about being Jewish in Berlin," he explains. The album's first
single 'Four Horses' features ethereal soundscape connoisseur Julianna Barwick and is about facing
one's own mortality. "I'm technically a veteran now, but I'm still fighting to have a voice." Lustman
combines superbly with dream collaborator Paul Banks on 'Come See Us,' the Interpol singer's
disconcerting vocals providing the perfect focal point to this anthem for the anxious. 'One Way or
Another' features the inimitable Mykki Blanco, whose Lustman produced 'Stay Close to Music' comes
out in October via Transgressive. "Mykki went into an iconic writing frenzy and wrote their verse and
outro hook in minutes. I feel so strong with their presence in my life, and I owe a lot of this phase of
my career to them and their belief in me." Steeped in hypotonic and hazy nostalgia, 'A Vow' feels like
an ode to this new direction. Hot Chip's Joe Goddard lends his immaculate and instantly recognisable
vocals to 'God Light,' before and jarring Talking Heads-inspired 'Zoo Jarre.' 'Play A Little Rough with
Me' sees Lustman in playful mode, with Matt Blanchard's saxophone bursts adding to the tracks
psychedelic charm. Barwick returns on 'A Brother Bears the Silence,' her haunting vocal harmonies
against a backdrop of sinister strings, before 'Doves Fears' swirling synths end proceedings with a
sense of awe and mystique.