The Dodos | "No Color" | Album Review

Story by Dan Stier 

| Published Mar 15, 2011

When an artist is known for one specific sound which ever-present within all their albums, it had better be damn interesting. The Dodos are just that. With each new record the artist has two options: change direction completely and reinvent, or find tricky ways to refresh an old style. The Dodos seem to have done the latter, and did so with ease. The Feel of No Color is that of a melding between their juvenile sounding album, Visiter, and their debut, Beware The Maniacs, while being grown-up in the theme of Time To Die.

When you are listening to any Dodos song you expect to be hit in the chest by pounding drums that act as if they are a lead just as much as the guitar. As for the guitar, Meric Long does nothing but impress while he dances up and down the fret board melding his vocal melodies with each strum or pick of the strings.

No Color takes the sound of the first two Dodo albums and ages it into a band that has been able to keep the art fresh. One way the established duo managed to update an old sound was to team back up with an old friend, John Askew, the original studio engineer from the first two albums. This gave the band another trusted opinion on a sound that has done no wrong to The Dodos or their listeners.

The Dodos also introduced a new voice on this album. Neko Case offers her indie-toned alto voice to tracks such as Good and Sleep. Case’s subtle harmonies open up Long’s range and expand the sound to a full-grown feeling that fills the room. The added violin within the album immediately expands on these harmonies and pushes the scope further into a high-rising harmonic tower, while the drums keep your feet firmly on the ground.

Whether you are new to The Dodos or a follower from when they were called Dodo Bird, this album does not disappoint. With timeless lyrics of boyhood style crushes and living an adult life, The Dodos bring a breath a fresh air to the idea of new albums; striping down, yet filling the room with sound. Well done, boys.