San Francisco’s power duo, Dodos, is rapidly evolving. They’ve come a long way from their days spent under the name Dodo Bird – back when they made silly-titled folk songs like “Horny Hippies” and “Elves.” 2008’s highly acclaimed, Visiter, saw Dodos mastering their distinctive acoustic-and-percussion sound. 2009’s release of Time to Die delved into existential lyrics and even the use of electric guitar. With Mar. 15’s release of No Color, the Dodos seem to be expanding the scope of their music with richer, more complex sonic textures while maintaining what they do best – percussion-heavy, folk-pop.
“Black Night” opens with a volley of rapid tom hits, cluing the listener into the enormous sound that unfolds as the song continues. With a lyrical potency unmatched by many of their other works, “Black Night” is a classic Dodos opener and one of the better songs of the album. The song gathers in intensity with snare rolls from drummer, Logan Kroeber, and wailing electric guitar riffs from guitarist, Meric Long.
The second track, “Going Under,” is reminiscent of some high moments found on Time to Die with fuzzy, distorted bass and fast-paced, unconventional rhythm patterns. Long’s melody for the chorus, “This ship is going under, going under, going under,” is one of the more beautiful moments of the album.
Long begins “Good” with a catchy hammer-on riff, utilizing acoustic and electric guitar sounds. The moment when Kroeber’s clattering drums come in is very cathartic, complete with loud shouts for the chorus.
“Sleep” begins with repeated bass drum thumps layered under a folky acoustic guitar riff. It’s a frantic song; Long seems to be shouting the chorus, “I cannot sleep, I cannot think, I cannot dream!” The song builds, even using a string section and some keyboards, until it dramatically sinks into dissonance at the end of the track.
Yet again, the anthem-like fourth track, “Don’t Try to Hide It,” begins with a repetitive acoustic riff eventually joined by Long’s melody. Percussion begins and a woman’s voice joins for the hooky chorus. “Don’t Try to Hide It” is such a thematically strong track for Dodos that it seems to be a direct relinquishment of their woe-is-me musings found on past lyrics.
“When Will You Go” opens with a wintry acoustic riff, later leading into some blaring electric guitar and crashing percussion. The song’s chorus is beautifully tender. An eclectic use of the xylophone introduces “Hunting Season.” Later guitar riffs become vicious, as Long repeats the query, “How am I supposed to know that?” “Companions” is a more low-energy piece, utilizing finger-picked classical guitar and reverb-heavy vocals. Long’s melodies for the song are lovely, even pleading.
The closing track, “Don’t Stop,” features some impressive rhythmic patterns from both Long and Kroeber. Churning, echoing electric guitars propel the song forward until finally subsiding into Dodos’ signature minimalism of acoustic guitar backed by percussion.
After being thoroughly impressed by No Color, I was thoroughly dismayed when I discovered that all Dodos concerts within a couple hours of Puget Sound are restricted to twenty-one and over. Yet again, the drinking age limit has returned to suppress having a good time! However, if any Loggers out there are of age, Dodos are playing some dirt-cheap shows (no more than $15) at the Wild Buffalo in Bellingham on April 2nd, at Neumo’s in Seattle on April 4th, and at the Doug Fir Lounge on April 5th. Tickets can be found at DodosMusic.net. If you’re lucky enough to drink alcohol AND see Dodos, I would suggest shelling out the money to go see them while they’re still performing No Color fresh out of production, by far their best album since Visiter.