Album Review: Time to Die - The Dodos

The Mayans believed the the sun visited the underworld when it set. If that's true, The Dodos are playing until the sun sets. It's beautiful and orange and ready for death (or at least a visit). Bring a thermos.

"Small Death" opens with a foot-stepper of a rhythm, ditching the kali sticks for some serious drums. Something about the Andrew Birdian guitar and the honeyed harmony made me think of fall. I half expected the sounds of papery leaves:

"Tell me glacier where you been / I hear the heat's been coming in / the sun is at your door"

The simplicity of The Beatles has been on my mind lately (maybe because of that ridiculous Guitar Hero commercial). What the Beatles did well they did simply. It's why Eleanor Rigby is brilliant - the harmony is good. When songs return to their rock and stone roots, and ditch the digital auxiliary processes, it's fascinating to hear when it's good. So kudos to The Dodos who use creative applications of a basic set of sounds: an electric guitar, a few snare drums and some liquor ready harmonies.

Longform, the Dodos second track, begs to heard live with its fast drum strokes and heavy beat. "Fables" is an elaboration on 2007's "Fools"; a song poached by the unmagnificent Miller Lite Lime commercial. "I don't want to go in the fires / I just want to stay home."The energy stays high throughout the album: "This is a Business" is a Buddy Holly-esque rock-n-roll piece with that little touch of rockabilly. "Two Medicines" begins like dark Queen riff (who can match Queen's brightness?) and the consensus theme is: The Dodos are ready for death. But it's a celebration, like an old faithful ritual. The sadness of our modern generation is fed into the album: the numbness of a Two Medicine world and the quiet death that follows malaise. I'm happy with the musical exploration on this album. Visiter became tedious and repetitive at times, occasionally exciting but never breaking the ceiling from song-to-song. Time to Die embraces their talents and needle-accuracy at finding a hot as hell rhythm; it's strong on the edges and more original then their previous album.