By Justin Tam
Staff Writer
After the minor disappointment that was folk-rock band the Dodos’ third album, “Time to Die,” the duo’s fourth album, “No Color,” is at least a mild step in the right direction. Building upon the exuberant, lively sound established in their second and third albums, the Dodos sound invigorated and assertive on their newest release.
The band consists of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber with Long usually on guitar and vocals and Kroeber on drums. The Dodos’ best songs are built around and driven by percussion. The songs are frenetic, infectious, and often dark, despite the consistently sweet melodies.
The Dodos have a lot to live up to following the release of 2008’s “Visiter.” The album is a prime example of what the band is capable of. Despite being a mostly acoustic-and-drum duo, the band’s breakthrough album comes off as surprisingly lush and is rife with feverish percussion and a swooping, often majestic, dynamic.
By contrast, the band’s 2009 album, “Time to Die” seemed uninspired. Far better produced than “Visiter,” the Dodos third album was pristine and pleasant in that regard, but it missed the intimacy, pace and visceral emotion evoked in their breakthrough sophomore effort. The melodies were there, but the contrast of Kroeber’s drums and Long’s guitars seemed less spontaneous and more predictable.
The Dodos’ latest release, however, is both polished and satisfying. The generic and restrained rhythms of 2009’s “Time to Die” are fortunately far less prevalent and, with the addition of singer-songwriter Neko Case on back up vocals, the record sounds far more welcoming than their previous effort.
For instance, the stand-out opening track of the album, “Black Night.” The song is filled with pleasant, interesting textures and brings about a palpable sense of jubilation. Though very similar, stylistically, to songs off “Visiter,” the track differs in the execution, which is far more crisp and professional than any songs off their 2008 album.
Though not a perfect marriage of the respective sounds of their previous two albums, the Dodos make an earnest attempt on “No Color” to combine the sweeter melodies and darker themes of “Time to Die” with the frenetic energy and percussion of their breakthrough album. Songs like “Good” and “Don’t Try and Hide It,” though less meticulously crafted than “Black Night,” represent this incarnation of the Dodos best. Both bubble with pleasant finger-picking and vibrant strumming while pounding with the Dodos’ dependably incessant drums and rhythm.
“No Color” also expands on the stripped-down instrumentation that is classically the Dodos. The uncharacteristically moody and brooding track, “Hunting Season” is assisted by way of marimba to great effect. The added instrumentation adds a delightful layer of textural idiosyncrasy to an otherwise simplistic and familiar-seeming song.
Despite these triumphs though, the album still falters, especially in the sedated second half. Though “Hunting Season” is refreshingly unconventional, but it is bookended by a decidedly pedestrian track entitled “When Will You Go Home” and the somber, almost lifeless “Companions.” The latter track in particular represents a glaring, flawed deviation from the album’s tone that proves particularly grating with respect to its otherwise noisy and peppy sound.
Despite its shortcomings, of which there are many, “No Color” is not a misstep as decidedly flagrant as its predecessor and differentiates itself incredibly from the generic modern folk scene.
The album flashes signs of brilliance and complexity, showing that their sophomore effort is not, by any means, the peak of the Dodos’ creativity and song-writing. “No Color” makes it clear that the Dodos have yet to finish exploring their sound, so fans and new listeners can expect another treat from these folk-rock virtuosos to be released in the future.
“No Color” is an essential album for anyone who has listened to the Dodos before. Fans will surely not be sorely disappointed. It is available on iTunes and on vinyl and CD both online and wherever music is sold.
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