Iran’s Dissolver is meant to represent the self-proclaimed experimental noise-popsters’ first foray into conventional pop song structures and polished high-fidelity production. While the band manages a few undeniably lovely moments, Dissolver largely suffers from its attempts to simplify its musical approach. Instead of applying its experimental aesthetic to tightly structured pop songs, Iran delivers a set of generally straightforward tunes devoid of any truly striking qualities. Simplicity works best for music that contains melodies strong enough to hold the listener’s attention from the first note to the last: multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Aaron Aites’s songwriting is not yet of that caliber. Aites’s pleasant but bland songs could be significantly strengthened by more interesting arrangements than the rather dry musical backdrops that appear on the album. ‘Can I Feel What?,’ which features angular string-shredding that envelops spacey, overdriven rhythm guitar strums, is a fine example of how a more daring arrangement can elevate a song and accentuate its melody. Dissolver is a serviceable pop-rock record that would have benefited from being subject to more of the band’s experimental tendencies, a missed opportunity for the trio to release a cutting-edge yet accessible set of music.

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