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The Dodos - Time To Die
| Drownedinsound |
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In the two years since the Dodos caught their big break, opening for Les Savy Fav and later Akron/Family, they have signed to Wichita, released a critically acclaimed second album, toured relentlessly on both sides of the Atlantic, and recently added vibraphone player Keaton Snyder to the lineup (not to be confused with Joe Haener, who sits in on xylophone and toy piano for live performances). There is a Miller Chill television commercial featuring ‘Fools’ (from 2008’s Visiter), a song so infectious it’s easy to overlook the fact that the beer tastes like rat piss. It must seem like a whirlwind ride for singer/guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber, a long way from selling homemade t-shirts and CDs in the dingy dive bars they used to play. Sometimes hard work and talent really do pay off. The Dodos built their reputation upon frenetic live shows, where instrumentation includes foot tambourines, toy pianos and looped trombones. Long might be finger-picking his guitar from a stool, but it feels as though he’s a coiled spring, poised and ready to leap into the audience at a moment’s notice. A kick drum would only hinder Kroeber’s West African-influenced drumming: percussion rips through the Dodos’ songs like a series of devastating earthquakes. On the band’s first two albums the translation to tape went surprisingly well, which makes Time To Die’s approach all the more confounding....full text |
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| Blogcritics |
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With last year’s Visiter, The Dodos provided a vivacious and detailed indie folk record. Since then, the duo of vocalist and guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber sprouted into a trio with the addition of Keaton Snyder on vibraphone. The result, showcased on 2009’s Time to Die, is a thicker, more polished sound. Time to Die actually leaked on to the wondrous internet in early July. The Dodos embraced the leak, offering a full high-quality stream of the record on their website and bumping up the official, legal MP3 release date. With production by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, The Shins, Built to Spill), it’s probably no surprise that this record is more sophisticated. The rough edges, part of what made Visiter such a lively and ballsy revelation, appear to have been buffed down to nigh on nothing. That’s not to say there aren’t moments of musical goodness to be heard, but the manic energy and wild strumming is nowhere to be found....full text |
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| Awmusic |
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The Dodos’ last album Visiter was fucking great. Armed with an acoustic guitar, I felt like what they did was just astounding. They experimented a whole lot making fun little pop songs as well as fine crafted 7 minute tracks. Visiter really encompassed an album few ever really achieve. It’s an album I still enjoy very much. You’d think that if it was “Time To Die’, with your swan song youwould go out with a bang. Unfortunately for The Dodos, with dying – they have chosen a much safer path. Sounding A LOT like the Shins, The Dodos have made a good but not great album. The Shins have a safe sound, and I love them. They’ve done it for years and I like them for it. For The Dodos it seems bittersweet as you know they are capable of much more. No more experimenting on 1 minute songs and less amazing guitar work. The only real experimenting I see is Two Medicines which happens to have an addicting but annoying intro. You do get to see a glimpse of their old style on Longform which has a sped up pace. While, I am emerged in their negatives, The Dodos are still good. They add a vibraphone to their sound and while I don’t think it adds much they are still good in a Shins-esque way. It’s just more of yes, it’s good but not great. It’s way too held back. For some that’s nice but more boring for me....full text |
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