This was meant to be a shoot for BrumLive, but the person who had requested to review them somehow forgot to turn up (???) – luckily a cool friend of mine, Sam Barnes stepped in a put together some lovely words. Not sure if BrumLive is going to run it now, so I’m running it here to avoid it all going to waste :)

The Dodos – Bar Academy Birmingham 01/06/08

Tonight I discovered that becoming too invested in internet hype can insulate you from the reality of a bandís popularity. As much as we may like our city, Brum is never going to be San Francisco. Anticipating a roomful of Pitchfork-reading hipsters, the Bar Academy was, shall we say, sparsely populated on this lazy, non-descript spring Sunday. However The Dodos created some rather wonderful noise in front of this disappointingly empty room. With an unprepossessing stage presence and the mastery of their craft, the trio captivated this reviewer as they flew through their small but perfectly formed back catalogue.

Comparisons to the cult American favourites Animal Collective are probably deserved; they certainly share a joyful sense of harmony and the shifting tribal rhythms, but The Dodos focus these elements into a more direct pop aesthetic. The lyrics flit easily between the personal and the mysterious, just as the percussion swiftly changed from visceral brutality to fragile beauty. (In practice this meant a Dodo going from hitting a bin to playing a xylophone or something, but please forgive me the flowery prose). Songs such as ëJodií and ëRed and Purpleí flew past in a blur of smiling faces and nodding heads. In truth it was ultimately the vitality of the percussion that really propelled the essentially folky, homespun tunes forward – the focus of the precise chopping guitar sound a counterpoint to the insistent drums.

The musicians themselves came across as charming, slightly shy souls, with an amusingly shambolic line in encore management. In terms of personality it must be conceded that on paper their lyrical preoccupations are not going to challenge your philosophical foundations – they sing wistfully about love, relationships, loneliness and regret (well trodden ground indeed), offering what the cynical might perceive as little original insight. Indeed, perhaps without the bittersweet emotional force of the music the songs might have come off as indirect and somewhat inconsequential. But here in this bijou venue, having successfully recreated their whirlwind of intense danceable rhythms, jangling acoustic guitars and understated sentiment, the resonance of this band seemed obvious.

Photos: Tom Horton

Review: Sam Barnes