An acoustic guitar, a tiny drum kit, and a dude that sings sound anything but exciting— like that recurring coffeehouse music nightmare that ensues across the anti-Starbucks, Starbucks nation. Like when your aunt mentions James Blunt in a fleeting attempt at hipness¬—nothing hip about it.
However, when you put the guitar and vocals into the capable hands of Meric Long, and the drums are lovingly smashed by Logan Kroeber, then the whole story changes. The Dodos make it known—they ain’t coffeehouse music.
Hailing from San Francisco, the duo had been playing together since 2006 as Dodo Bird. They changed their name to the Dodos last year. Stylistically, however, the band has remained virtually the same. A simple psych-folk-pop duo that takes Long’s smooth vocals, rapid guitar picking, and strumming and mixes it with Kroeber’s crucial drumming. Do not let the White Stripes enter your mind either. You’d, again, be way off. I did say crucial drumming, and without Kroeber, the Dodos are not the Dodos. Both members contribute memorable moments.
Quite simply, the duo feels like a band. The songs on the purposely misspelled Visiter are big and bold enough that the missing bass guitar and keys go largely unnoticed. Even without them, plenty about the album is noteworthy.
On this sophomore effort (their first on Frenchkiss Records), the band recorded in a manner that would allow them to translate the intensity of their live show; guitars and drums were taped simultaneously. Picking up where their debut ended, the album begins with the gentle picking of Long’s guitar on “Walking.” But this intro is just that, and after its mellow two minutes, we hear the Dodos turn things up a bit with “Red and Purple.” Heavy strumming and a bounding beat immediately wake the listener.
The album continues with a tenacious flow. There are few lulls between Long’s driving guitars and the rotating tapping and pounding percussion. It hits a high point with “Fools,” a song that allows the band to experiment with both microphone effects and placement, and refuses to decline.
Though on paper the band may seem familiar, when it is time to compare them to other artists, you may be at a loss. Placing them in a genre is equally difficult. If there were such a thing as acoustic-punk, one might classify the Dodos there. Regardless of classification, this is a very warm, human record that could easily be a favorite for years to come.
An acoustic guitar, a tiny drum kit, and a dude that sings—yeah, very, very hip.
*Check out a Dodo's video for "Fools" directed by Matt Amato here. |