It took a few spins to see what was already before me, just set to a focus I didn’t know to see at first. When I first let my eyes listen to Visiter I was drawn to the off kilter, almost catastrophic clambering of beats and sounds. The drawn came in the slightness of the sound; direct, hard hitting pop-rock thrown off by altered timing and tilted ambition. It was Califone meets Animal Collective stripped down to a bare bones duo and it is one of the best albums of 2008.
I struggled with Time to Die, but not for long.
I struggled with Time to Die, but not for long.
The addition of a full-time third member of the band obviously changed the complexion in arrangements and angling of the soundscapes. Where the songs were wanting to wander off into the unknown and odd with previous material it is now syncing in and tightening up. It seem so many bands these days are finding ways to layer more, arrange more, fill voids, introduce depth and complexity (St. Vincent and Andrew Bird to Dirty Projectors and Grizzly Bear), here the Dodos do just the opposite. The easy way to introduce a new member would be to simply add more noise to your sound, needed or not. The opposite becomes the case.
What my eyes are hearing is a dynamic duo diggin deeper within themselves and their sound to deliver a bit of a post-punk new age pop rock on a grassroots, blues level. Minimalism through added experimentation, if you will.
Taking a note from the band, I’ll trim back the wordiness of this review to state what needs to be said.
The Dodos are fast positioning themselves as one of the more worthy bands in the next generation/direction of music. Theirs is a sound that will continue to grow and I look forward to keeping keen eye on their work.
Rating:
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