Artist Spotlight: The Dodos Might Be Returning to Form

I've been onboard The Dodo's bandwagon since "Jodi" made its way onto the blogosphere way back in February 2008 (proof!).

Then I was completely let down by the duo's junior effort, 2009's Time to Die. They all but abandoned their rhythmic, finger-picked guitar & drum sound in favour of more fleshed out nonsense, completely stripping away what made the band so interesting in the first place.

While I've got a little hope for their forthcoming record, No Color, "Don't Stop" is a pretty promising first single, sounding like a return to good form (I hope). Since it's a coin flip whether or not their next album will be any good, I'm hosting the new track, plus some older Dodo favourites.

I still spin my double-vinyl copy of Visiter when the weather get warm. Listen to "Jodi" first.

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The Dodos - Jodi
The Dodos - Don't Stop
The Dodos - Horny Hippies
The Dodos - Fools
The Dodos - Park Song

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AotW - Fantasy Memorial by Dinosaur Feathers

So I've been spinning Dinosaur Feather's new LP non-stop and I've only had the record for a little over two days. That's a good sign. These Brooklyn dudes play a shopworn collage of avant-pop pastiches that manage to sound both pretty unique and very familiar. I'm sold.

Grabbing style from The Dodos, acoustic Animal Collective, Born Ruffians, Minus the Bear, Dirty Projectors, Andrew Bird, and a bunch of your other favourite bands, I'd say the songs on Fantasy Memorial sound like danceable freak folk, but then again, none of the tracks here really sound the same.

While that kind of diminishes the album as a whole, the schizophrenic musicianship suits Dinosaur Feather's catchy eccentricities. One track could have drums machines, hand-claps, and doo-wop vocals, while others sound like Grizzly Bear covering Radiohead's "There There."

These guys are all over the map, yes, but the culture cramming works and all these different sonic elements play off each other incredibly well. It doesn't hurt that the record sounds like autumn either. If you like the posted tracks, grab the whole LP by clicking here.

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Family Waves - Dinosaur Feathers

Teenage Whore - Dinosaur Feathers

I Ni Sogoma - Dinosaur Feathers

Know Your Own Strength - Dinosaur Feather

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