listening to time to die, the dodos‘ follow up to visiter, has left me rather ambivalent. while the band still does what they do best, driving their songs solidly with a strong percussive focus, they’ve replaced the raw, direct feel of their debut effort for a polished sheen. the former treatment still sits better with me in capturing that arresting live sound, and while some may say the layered approach in time to die brings out a more nuanced side of the band, i feel that the loss of immediacy is often not worth the trade-off. that isn’t to say it never works: in fact it’s given the band the space to explore different song structures that would hardly have fit in visiter. for instance, the longest song in the album, “troll nacht”, also happens to be the most rewarding one with its many twists and turns stretched out elegantly, varying in subtlety and pace. it’s moments like these that i’m tempted to quit rationalizing and admit that sometimes, changes and sacrifices really are worth it. - dan. mp3: the dodos – troll nacht time to die is out on frenchkiss records. Tagged: frenchkiss records, the dodos, time to die
October 17 2009, 1:02am | Original Link »
