The Dodos – Visiter
I might revisit this post later when I’m not hurrying because I’m on lunch break, but for once in probably the last five or so Best New Music picks by Pitchfork, I actually totally agree. This album is fantastic. Fans of the band The Acorn will find much to love here. Acoustic driven, percussive folk, only where The Acorn stay pretty reserved most the time, the Dodos seem much happier and more energetic with their folk, with some songs sounding like a folk version of Stomp, with all kinds of random things being beaten on for percussion. Stand-outs are aplenty throughout Visiter, with the gentle “Walking” opening the album, only to be followed by “Red and Purple”, which set a percussive precedence that dominates the rest of the album.
The Dodos are Meric Long on vocals and most instruments, and Logan Kroeber on drums and percussion. From most reviews I’ve read, it seems like a pretty unique writing arrangement the two have with Meric writing the backbone melodies and words and Logan taking those and going crazy adding drums and percussion all over them. It’s rare folk music gets such a unique treatment, but the Dodos do it with the addition of crazy percussion. The mp3’s provided by French Kiss aren’t my favorite on the album, but they’re good none the less. If you’re a fan of The Acorn, unique folk music, or are looking for something surprisingly good you may not have expected to like, then Visiter is a great album to look into. It’s been on repeat all day for me and I’m guessing you’ll want to press the repeat button the minute the album stops as well.
Visiter
1. walking
2. red and purple
3. eyelids
4. fools [mp3]
5. joe’s waltz
6. winter
7. it’s that time again
8. paint and rust
9. park song
10. jodi [mp3]
11. ashley [mp3]
12. the season
13. undeclared
14. god?
genre: indie rock, indie pop, percussive folk madness
sounds like: the acorn, sea wolf, magnetic fields, (especially the song “Winter”), animal collective (minus the weirdness)
Also! Go to Amoeba.com tonight to listen to a live stream of the Dodos playing.
