Dim Wizard – “Stoicism” | Single Review

Self-Released

I am still working on learning that people can only give me so much. Nobody can provide me with all that I need. I spend so much time railing against others’ expectations of me that I owe them grace when they fail mine. I know that in coming out as a trans woman, I shattered my parents’ expectations of me as a man, so it is only fair that I accept that, in reconstructing our relationship, I value what they can give me instead of projecting an idealized version of acceptance.

David Combs has been making pop music from the verge for a while now, both in the recently retired Bad Moves and in his collaborative solo project Dim Wizard, which has featured the likes of Jeff Rosenstock, Ratboys, and Ings, among others. Combs’ new single as Dim Wizard, “Stoicism,” a collaboration with the Australian musician Katie Dey, is a piece of clattering synth-pop reckoning with failed projected expectations—those we place on others and those placed upon us. 

Each verse opens with Dey asking, “Do you owe me strength?” before grappling with the fact that, even if the object of her questioning can provide her strength, it’s not always enough to combat what the turning of the world confronts us with. In the final chorus, Dey sings the repeated affirmation that “you don’t owe me nothing / it’s alright,” before the song drops out and the instrumentation comes back with a sense of resignation. 

That final bit, those last twenty seconds, are my favorite part of the song, because it feels like knowing I’ll never get all I need from my parents, but it doesn’t stop me from hoping. 


Lillian Weber is a fake librarian in NYC. She writes about gender, music, and other inane thoughts on her substack, all my selves aligned. You can follow her on insta @Lilllianmweber.

Dim Wizard – X-Games Mode | Single Review

Self-Released

I cannot tell you the last time it was that I picked up a skateboard and popped an ollie or landed a shuvit. Now that I’m 30 and it truly means nothing to me, my memory wanes as to whether I actually landed a kickflip like I bragged to some attractive women in college. Not to kill my ego, but I probably didn’t. That being said, I would’ve burned a hole in the flash memory of my iPod Nano listening to Dim Wizard’s “X-Games Mode” on repeat while slamming the deck into my shins.

The latest collaboration from Bad Moves’ David Combs and illuminati hotties’ Sarah Tudzin features garage power-popper Mike Krol and Ratboys’ Julia Steiner on vocals. Distorted and compressed to a chaotic hell, “X-Games Mode'' is just plain fun. Combs and Tudzin’s earworm songwriting and musicianship are complemented by Krol and Steiner’s cool deliveries to create a track that evokes nostalgia while also feeling new. Because of that, “X-Games Mode” immediately feels timeless in the best way.

Although my skating days are well behind me, the single’s catchy chiptune elements and swirling guitar riffs make for the perfect soundtrack to play Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater (or, for a true X-Games mode, Skate) with your friends. If we play at your house, I’ll bring the forties.


Joe Wasserman lives with his partner and their dogs in Brooklyn. When he’s not listening to music, he plays bass in bands, writes stories, and releases music as After School Special. You can find him on Twitter at @a_cuppajoe.