For Time to Die, the Dodos added a new member, electric vibraphonist Keaton Snyder, and worked with a new producer, Phil Ek. Despite these changes, the band's third album is surprisingly predictable, replacing the free-wheeling approach of Beware of the Maniacs and their breakthrough album, Visiter, with a slower, more polished approach that focuses on their melodies. "Troll Nacht" and "Acorn Factory" are so undeniably pretty they're impossible to dislike, but they don't necessarily connect the way the Dodos' earlier work did. What made the band's music exciting, particularly on Visiter, was the contrast of those pretty melodies with Logan Kroeber's intricate drumming, and the feeling that the Dodos' songs could -- and often did -- end up in completely different musical territory than where they started. And while the sound quality wasn't pristine, it gave a real sense of the space and energy around the band. That visceral edge and intimacy are missing from most of Time to Die, bringing the band closer to the Shins or Fleet Foxes (two bands Ek has also produced). Kroeber's drums are often buried, which adds to the overly groomed feel, and while Snyder's vibraphones add atmosphere to Time to Die's closing title track, they also contribute to the album's tamer feel, since there's nothing rougher to contrast with them. Songs like "The Strums" -- which has a vibraphone-and-guitars rave-up that feels more planned than spontaneous -- dominate the album, but the Dodos' wildness resurfaces occasionally. "Longform"'s winding melody and intricate picking recalls the ebb and flow of their earlier work; the galloping "This Is a Business" gives the band's drums and guitars equal time, and actually rocks out; and "Two Medicines" balances the album's more pop approach with the tension of the Dodos' earlier music, adding bustling vocal harmonies for good measure. Time to Die is far from a bad album, but unpredictability still suits the Dodos better than trying to fit into a more recognizable indie rock mold.
The Dodos are a wonderful example of a band that doesn't want to reinvent the wheel just to have an individual sound. Logan Kroeber prefers his drum kit sans kick drum which compliments their new presumably full-time member on vibraphone, Keaton Snyder, very well. Acoustic guitar player and ...
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The Dodos aim to take it to the next level on Time to Die, but in doing so, they have lost sight of what made them so exciting in the first place.
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Following their second release, Visiter which repeatedly featured on Best of 2008 round-ups, Time to Die sees the San Franciscans still huddled with anarchic glee around Kroeber’s progressive, deliciously vertigo-inducing drumming. Only difference is, this time Kroeber’s fat, idiosyncratic beats are scaffolding to the sunny boho mood of The Shins. Here, we see the addition [...]
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After an internet leak The Dodos decided to bring forward the online release date of their fourth album Time To Die by a month to July 28th and even started to stream the album on their dedicated website from mid July.It's a difficult start to what is potentially a difficult album for the Californian three-piece. Coming after their 2008 release Visitor they certainly have a lot to live up to. C...
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I don’t believe there’s any expressed standard in the music industry regarding the proper amount of time between albums, but in practice, somewhere between two and three years seems the average. Certainly there are many exceptions as bands often put four or more years between releases, sometimes taking an entire decade between LPs (which is obviously more than frustrating for fans and rar
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Time to Die is an album title you might expect from a metal band, not from cheery alt-folk duo The Dodos. But despite the surprisingly morose title, its lead single is in line with what we’ve come to expect from the Cali band, especially after their well-received second album Visiter. “Fables” (which can be heard on my new JeffMix podcast) is a summery and sharp jangler, with a terrific chor
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As much as we’d like to have more time, the blog world pays only slightly more than the bumming change on corners and washing windshields world and full time jobs and life gets in the way.So, in an effort to talk about some acts we’ve been sleeping on far too long, we are going to do the Laveranues Coles notes version of a herohill review, hoping you will do the leg work on your own. That who
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The Dodos’ last album Visiter was fucking great. Armed with an acoustic guitar, I felt like what they did was just astounding. They experimented a whole lot making fun little pop songs as well as fine crafted 7 minute tracks. Visiter really encompassed an album few ever really achieve. It’s an album I still enjoy [...]Related posts:Dodos – Fables MP3 Review The Dodos‘ Visiter was a great
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After an internet leak The Dodos decided to bring forward the online release date of their fourth album Time To Die by a month to July 28th and even started to stream the album on their dedicated website from mid July.It's a difficult start to what is potentially a difficult album for the Californian three-piece. Coming after their 2008 release Visitor they certainly have a lot to live up to. ...
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Time To Die is the third album from California indie folk/pop duo The Dodos. The album gets released digitally on July 28th and on physical CD September 15th.With the success of their 2008 album, Visiter, there is more attention on the band this time out. The pair respond very well to the increased scrutiny on the new album.Once again the tracks are based in folk and vocal pop. That works to
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That's right, we've got Snubby the Bear to tell you about four songs your ears need to know. He was expensive to rent out for the day, so you better f*cking read this. That stingy bastard.1. The Dodos - Fables.mp3With an acoustic riff pleasantly reminiscent of Mungo Jerry's "Summertime," The Dodos' single "Fables" off of their leaked (shock!) album Time to Die provides a tasty reminder that cle...
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The Dodos aim to take it to the next level on Time to Die, but in doing so, they have lost sight of what made them so exciting in the first place.
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While I am thinking about it, here's another new piece of music I'd like to share with you guys. I don't have a ton to say, as I have just started rocking this album, so I'll let you listen and maybe we can discuss, yes?The Dodos - "Fable" (from the forthcoming album "Time To Die."
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Time To Die is the third album from California indie folk/pop duo The Dodos. The album gets released digitally on July 28th and on physical CD September 15th.With the success of their 2008 album, Visiter, there is more attention on the band this time out. The pair respond very well to the increased scrutiny on the new album.Once again the tracks are based in folk and vocal pop. That works to
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After last weeks barrage of good shit it's hard for a week to follow up but I think this week did a pretty good jorb! Porcupine Tree has been around a long time and they have always put out excellent stuff so I cant imagine that The Incident is going to disappoint. UPDATE...Apparently it CAN, because it's not very good...at all. You know what has a really good chance of disappointing your ears?...
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Here are a few new tunes for Linus: a sprightly new single from The Dodos, Fables, off their upcoming album “Time To Die” due out September 15th; Walkabout, a new song from Atlas Sound (Bradford Cox of Deerhunter) off his upcoming album “Logos” due out October 20th – the song features Panda Bear [...]
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One of The Dodos newest tracks, taken from their latest long-player Time To Die (our review can be seen HERE) has been given its very own video. Fables, the gentle, poppy melodic third track from the recent long-player is the song of choice and for the video, the band decided on a warm, simple studio performance and some nice circular track shots to boot.
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I don’t believe there’s any expressed standard in the music industry regarding the proper amount of time between albums, but in practice, somewhere between two and three years seems the average. Certainly there are many exceptions as bands often put four or more years between releases, sometimes taking an entire decade between LPs (which is obviously more than frustrating for fans and rar
More >
After an internet leak The Dodos decided to bring forward the online release date of their fourth album Time To Die by a month to July 28th and even started to stream the album on their dedicated website from mid July.It's a difficult start to what is potentially a difficult album for the Californian three-piece. Coming after their 2008 release Visitor they certainly have a lot to live up to. C...
More >
After an internet leak The Dodos decided to bring forward the online release date of their fourth album Time To Die by a month to July 28th and even started to stream the album on their dedicated website from mid July.It's a difficult start to what is potentially a difficult album for the Californian three-piece. Coming after their 2008 release Visitor they certainly have a lot to live up to. ...
More >
Artist: The Dodos Album: Time To Die Release date: 15.09.2009 Tracklist: 1. Small Deaths2. Longform3. Fables4. The Strums5. This Is A Business6. Two Medicines7. Troll Nacht8. Acorn Factory9. A Time To Die Style: Indie read more
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As reported by the band last week, The Dodos new album, Time to Die, has leaked two months in advance of the official release. Due to this common event, they’ve made some moves to help keep their pockets from draining too heavily. Learn more over at Stereogum. Since letting their album stream, a [...]
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The Dodos are a wonderful example of a band that doesn't want to reinvent the wheel just to have an individual sound. Logan Kroeber prefers his drum kit sans kick drum which compliments their new presumably full-time member on vibraphone, Keaton Snyder, very well. Acoustic guitar player and ...
More >
The Dodos’ last album Visiter was fucking great. Armed with an acoustic guitar, I felt like what they did was just astounding. They experimented a whole lot making fun little pop songs as well as fine crafted 7 minute tracks. Visiter really encompassed an album few ever really achieve. It’s an album I still enjoy [...]Related posts:Dodos – Fables MP3 Review The Dodos‘ Visiter was a great
More >
Time To Die – LP3 from SF-based acrobatic folk trio The Dodos – leaked onto the Internet last Wednesday afternoon. A few 1000 tweets & a few dozen Rapidshare links later, the September 15th...**Summary** Go to website for downloads, videos & more.
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The new Dodos album, Time to Die (TMT News), has escaped from captivity and made it out onto the internet — two months before the original September 15 release date. Them's the breaks, but Dodos aren't taking it lying down. The jittery San Francisco folk trio have enacted a three-step plan to combat the leak. Roll the slides! Step 1: Set up a website where fans can listen to the album, download.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Small Deaths |
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| 2 Longform |
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| 3 Fables |
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| 4 The Strums |
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| 5 This Is A Business |
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| 6 Two Medicines |
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| 7 Troll Nacht |
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| 8 Acorn Factory |
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| 9 Time To Die |
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 "Time to Die")
