LIVE: The Dodos at The Amersham Arms

Don't Do It attended the Dodos gig, hosted by Eat Your Own Ears, at the Amersham Arms last night. The San Francisco duo's second album Visiter, released last month on Wichita Records, is an exciting and spasmodic deconstruction of psychedelic folk, blues and rock music that could be rather crudely described as something akin to Animal Collective channelling the White Stripes. The band are joined on-stage by a third instrumentalist, opting to retain the few overdubs evident on the album instead of stripping them away, which is a pleasant surprise. Lead singer Meric Long sings sweetly over spiky guitar riffs, occasionally using a loop pedal to lay down vocal or guitar drones, while drummer Logan Kroeber's rapid rimshots sound like rattling bones, and are mixed with almost exclusive use of the toms, to create pounding, tribal rhythms. Their set is mostly made up of material from Visiter, (The misspelt name of the record came from a drawing a child did for them when they played at a special education class at Dorsey High in South Central on a road trip down to LA.) with highlights including Joe's Waltz and Paint The Rust. The Dodos are sensational on record, and perhaps even better live, and we highly recommend you get familiar with them if you haven't done so already.

The Dodos - Fools (Courtesy of Hate Something Beautiful)
The Dodos Myspace

Eat Your Own Ears

Moshi Moshi // Fleet Foxes // White Williams // F. Lunaire

Don't Do It attended the Moshi Moshi Records gig last night at Hoxton Square Bar to witness the increasingly hyped (and acclaimed) Fleet Foxes play live, following their DJ set and signing at Rough Trade East just a few days ago. Here's how it went down:


The first act of the evening was London based F. Lunaire who opened his set with a keyboard and vocal led track that showcased his highly emotive voice, switching back and forth between caressing croons and Waits-esque growls, and his sensuous piano playing. His gritty urban tales are infused with a melancholy romance that, when it works, is haunting and effective. Though he (and his backing band) only played a short set, it was impressive and we're in no doubt that he has great potential as a serious pop act. The Mondestrunken EP is currently out on Stiff Records. You can also catch Lunaire playing keyboards for Kid Harpoon's band The Powers That Be.

F. Lunaire - La Lune (Live) (courtesy of Eyes For Indie)
F. Lunaire on Myspace


The next band on the bill were White Williams from Cleveland, USA. Lead singer Joseph Williams apologised for any "technical problems"; apparently some of their gear had gone missing during their travels and indeed this did effect their performance. The band got off to a rather shambolic start, Williams clearly exhausted and frustrated, but after a few songs they hit their stride, at which point they wielded their chaotic sound with intent. Mixing influences as varied as surf, stadium rock, electronica, calypso and pure pop they certainly made an interesting impression. Forced to cut their set short due to time restrictions, despite cheers from the crowd for more, they finished with a rather soulful rendition of 'Going Down', sounding like the experimental evil twin of Vampire Weekend. Their well-received debut album Smoke, mostly recorded by Williams on his laptop, is available now courtesy of Tigerbeat6 and we highly recommend it.

White Williams - Going Down (courtesy of Cubik Musik)
White Williams on Myspace

As soon as Fleet Foxes launch into their opening song after setting up it is clear by the audience's reaction who most people have come to see tonight. The band themselves are surprised by the extent of the rapturous reception, nervously smiling at one another and thanking the audience. For us it may not be so surprising; their self-titled debut album, set for release on June 3rd, has already been extensively hyped in the UK, receiving the album-of-the-month award in numerous publications, including Mojo. When we spoke to the band before their set they admitted to being rather oblivious to the media, frightened by the potentially destructive force of the hype machine. For the moment at least, they can enjoy the praise; their brand of harmonic American folk is certainly pleasing to the ears and is destined for wide appeal, falling somewhere between Iron & Wine and Yeasayer. Lead singer Robin Pecknold has an incredible voice; even singing a cappella with no accompaniment he remains pitch-perfect and expressive. The Seattle based five-piece showcase much of their new material, which the audience are already familiar with; "that's the internet for you" laughs Pecknold at one point, seated centre-stage on a rickety wooden chair, with nothing but affection, and rightfully it is nothing but affection that the audience returns to them tonight. Their self-titled LP is available through Bella Union and Sub Pop, and their equally brilliant EP, Sun Giant, is also out now.

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal
Fleet Foxes on Myspace

Moshi Moshi Music

LIVE REVIEW: Sunset Rubdown at the Luminaire 22/05/08

Don't Do It were lucky enough to attend thursday's Sunset Rubdown show at the Luminaire, the first London performance for the Canadian five-piece. The band's sophomore album Random Spirit Lover, released last year on Jagjaguwar, was extremely well recieved by critics and fans, appearing in many end of year lists of best albums. Spencer Krug, the brains behind the operation, has been highly prolific of late; continuing to record as part of Frog Eyes (Tears of the Valedictorian another one of 2007's best), Wolf Parade (sophmore album prepped for imminent release) and the Frog Eyes/Destroyer/Krug collaboration that is Swan Lake, whose sophomore album is currently in the mixing stage. With Sunset Rubdown Krug is best able to show off his talent for merging beautiful melodies with a ghostly atmosphere and intelligent, emotive lyrics. Perched precariously on the edge of his stool, leaning forward, fingers dancing across the keyboard, he sings as if posessed by the spirits of the ghosts that inhabit his songs. Michael Doerksen's frantic guitar work compliments Krug with arresting precision. Wicked/Winged Things is even more chilling than on record, Trumpet Trumpet Toot! Toot! swathes the 200-odd capacity venue in a thick mist of noise and fan-favourite Stadiums And Shrines II, from the band's debut Shut Up I Am Dreaming, is met with rapturous cheers and applause. Shut Up I Am Dreaming Of Places Where Lovers Have Wings morphs into The Taming Of The Hands That Came Back To Life half way through. Pleas for For The Pier erupt throughout the night, the band repeatedly apologising for not being able to play it as they "don't know how" but they promise to learn it for the future. Three brand new songs are showcased; all of which are brilliant, perhaps even more anthemic than anything on the latest album. Highlights of the night include a highly energetic performance of The Mending Of The Gown and a rousing updated version of the haunting Little Lord, saved for the encore, after which the band disappear humbly backstage. As the cheers finally die down the chatter confirms what everyone was already thinking; "that was amazing".

Sunset Rubdown - The Mending Of The Gown

Upset The Rhythm: Xiu Xiu, Chris Garneau, Telepathe, Soiled Mattress & The Springs live!

Don't Do It attended the Xiu Xiu gig at the University of London Union last night, hosted by Upset the Rhythm, with support from Soiled Mattress & The Springs, Telepathe and Chris Garneau. Here's how it went down:

A little before 8pm NY brio Soiled Mattress & The Springs, consisting of one sax player, a keyboard player and a drummer, took to the stage with their kinetic intrumental jazz pop, sax player Matthew Thurber diving into the audience during songs, and making jokes between them. Their set was enjoyable, but ultimately their music lacked any distinctive qualities to make it worth recommending.


The next band, another trio from NY, called Telepathe, made a much bigger impression. Lead singer Melissa Lidaudais strides across the stage with confidence, warning the audience of the coming bass assault. She triggers a thundering sequence through her sampler, percussionist Busy Gagnes providing extra beats and guitarist Ryan Lucero layering in atmospheric drones with his reverb-soaked guitar, over which Lidaudais begins to half speak/half sing over, teetering on the edge of the stage in a trance. The band's set mixed elements of hip hop with the occassional pop melody to great success, and left us eager to hear their upcoming Dave Sitek-produced debut album Dance Mother.


With minimal change-over times we finally arrived at the last support act, Chris Garneau, performing solo. Unfortunately the excitement built up thus far was deflated by Garneau's dreary love songs, almost all of which were addressed to an un-named "you", either saying goodbye or professing a regret for leaving. Though the man is blessed with a stunning and emotive voice, his songwriting is highly repetitive and banal. One suspects he may have been selected to boost the impact of Xiu Xiu's set...


...which was simply incredible. The current incarnation of the band includes, aside from primary songwriter and composer Jamie Stewart, Stewart's multi-instrumentalist cousin Caralee McElroy, drummer Ches Smith and bassist Devin Hoff, all of whom performed on every song of the night. A number of tracks from latest album Women As Lovers were played, including I Do What I Want, No Friend OH!, F.T.W. and Master of the Bump, and they all came to life spectacularly, and more often than not revealed elements that one might have not noticed on record. The songs were generally more aggresive, employing more striking elements of metal and noise, even on previously intimate and subdued songs such as Master of the Bump, which have been re-worked and mutated. Old favourites such as Clowne Towne and A Clover mixed well into the set under this new aesthetic, which lent every track a new unpredictability and energy. Despite the confrontational aspect of the music, moments of intimacy and tenderness, as well as quiet foreboding, were given plenty of space to breathe, and were as affecting as ever. The audience remained eerily silent throughout the whole set, apart from cheering and applauding between songs, and Stewart hardly spoke. The tension was palpable. Despite a good ten minutes of cheers for an encore the band did not reappear, not surprising; Stewart is hardly one to give in to convention or expectations.


Soiled Mattress & The Springs - Tidal Wave
Telepathe - Chrome It
Chris Garneau - Black and Blue
Xiu Xiu - I Do What I Want When I Want