Just in...The Dodos: No Color

    A relative newcomer, formed in 2005, The Dodos have already made some waves with this their fourth studio album, No Color (March 15, 2011). They are signed to Frenchkiss Records and made a recent appearance at the 2011 SXSW (South by Southwest) festival in Austin, TX. The Dodos, originally called the Dodo Birds until followers started calling them simply The Dodos, are based in San Francisco and include an eclectic background of influences.
    The two main members, drummer, Logan Kroeber, and guitarist and vocalist, Meric Long, are from almost completely different musical backgrounds. Long was trained in Ewe drumming, a West African artform, while Kroeber was a member of various metal bands. Combined, they have created a truly rhythmically syncopated, folksy sound that emphasizes the drumming as almost the centerpiece. Interestingly, Kroeber does not use a bass drum in his set, often has a tambourine taped to his foot. A third member sometimes joins them, Joe Haener, who plays vibraphone, an additional drum and a sort of hihat made out of two cymbals. Meric also uses different guitars at times, owning a custom made Springtime and Tafelburg drum guitar, both made by Yuri Lundman (very cool looking and interesting instruments, check 'em out!). Neko Case, from The New Pornographers, also lends her talent with rare backing vocals for No Color. Finally, simple use of strings on tracks like "Companions" adds beautiful texture and layers.
    Surprisingly, The Dodos' upbeat driving music is very relaxing to just sit back and listen to. The vocals are smooth and the ethereal use of long guitar notes in the background to provide harmonic interest is a great balance. The drums do grow a tiresome after a while, perhaps, this just might not be an album you could listen to over and over. But, the rhythmic stability of the group and changing hemiola of meters is refreshing and brings the folky style of the guitar more into the limelight--guitar is just what you expect to hear when you listen to folk, so your ears naturally gravitate towards its timbre.
    In all actuality, I samples one song, "Can't Stop", from the IndieRockCafe.com and just knew that I would be posting a blog entry about The Dodos. They struck me immediately as possessing an ingenuity that I have not heard in many other bands. So, I hope the first song I had the pleasure of hearing finds itself to your liking. Enjoy "Don't Stop" in the MixPod, or download it from The Dodos website here (also, while there, check out footage of their SXSW performance at the bottom of the page as long as it remains there...), or listen to the album in it's entirety at The Dodos' MySpace page here!