The Dodos : 'Time To Die'
Released: Out Now!!!
Label: Wichita Recordings
Phil Ek, the man behind much of The Shins' best stuff and Fleet Foxes' eponymous album produced Time To Die, The Dodos follow up to the superb Visiter and he's certainly left his mark. Gone are the brief musical forays that littered Visiter and in is a bigger focus on the perfectly weighted, weirdly beautiful songs.
In typical Dodos fashion, it opens with a teasing cracker. Last album, Visiter began with a boy/girl duet that left you giddy with excitement over what was to come and 'Small Deaths' opens Time To Die in equally impressive, if initially different, fashion. It shuffles along to it's smoldering end, having disappeared down a road entirely different to the one it began on.
The brilliance differs from song to song, Longform's ramshackle off beat fills, 'Two Medicines' Beach-Boys intro, the contrast of 'The Strums' and the sporadic background noises of 'Fables' make it difficult not to keep pressing the repeat button, sorry CTRL+Left. The understated ease of 'Troll Nacht' and the wandering beauty of 'Acorn Factory', ironically reminiscent of 'The Acorn', ease on into the triumphant finale 'Time To Die'.
There's a sense of satisfaction at the closing crash of the tumultuous title track, as though they knew that this really was a stunning record. Hopefully, Time To Die should finally catapult them alongside The Shins or even Fleet Foxes' newly heady heights. If Visiter got them on their way, Time To Die will hopefully get them there.
Words: Jack Phillips
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