The Dodos

In a bustling Amersham Arms playing host to The Dodos this evening, DiS hustles and cranes for a good view, arriving only minutes before Port O’Brien close out their set attempting a rambunctious sing-along (wail-along?) whereby singer Van Pierszalowski incites a willing crowd into joining his caterwauling vocal. “Fuck yeah, London!” he bellows while inciting the mayhem, and to these virgin ears it sounds a clatter at once mighty and inviting.

Aforementioned headliners make their entrance with a gradually stronger push, Meric Long dextrous in his finger-picking, sitting stage-left while drummer Logan Kroeber takes residence opposite, the duo flanking live member Joe Haener who offers a stirring glockenspiel strike among a number of additional percussive elements. By the time they reach ‘Joe’s Waltz’ (from their superlative Visiter (review) – from where tonight’s set is predominantly drawn) a stride of sorts is hit, and although Long’s vocal seems slightly buried in the mix, the yelps and blistering fretwork imparted during the song’s extended outro are thrilling.

A few softer numbers follow – the delightful ‘Ashley’ suffers slightly through losing Laura Gibson’s beautifully understated vocal contribution – though retains the sense of yearning palpable on its recorded counterpart – while a spontaneous crowd clap-along precedes a live outing of Visiter’s opening track ‘Walking’ (which, as on record, segues agreeably into choice cut ‘Red And Purple’).

About now though, a few ongoing technical problems culminate in the notion that the acoustics of the place really aren’t lending themselves to the percussion-heavy set (Kroeber’s drumming fantastic throughout, mind); an echo surrounds Long’s vocal too – and that, coupled with his need to perhaps commandeer, steer these fine compositions just a little more, results in a set perhaps oft-surpassed by the band.

That said, it’s intermittently bracing stuff, ‘It’s That Time Again’ conversely benefiting from the strength of the drum-heavy sound (“Be my love again / Together we will have a happy home / Be my love and then / We’ll never have to be alone” – 's direct indeed), while Long’s reaching for the trombone sets this scribe’s heart a-flutter in anticipation of their quietly magnificent ‘Winter’. Doesn’t happen, but instead foreshadows prominent use of a loop pedal – seeing the set wind up through the setting in motion of a symphony of vocals, horns and clattered beats before Long returns to wring more life out of his guitar.

An encore sees the band stumble through a charmingly ramshackle ‘Park Song’ before a rattling climax. It’s not a perfect show – the nuance and subtlety of their quieter moments on record not entirely present – but it’s a very fine one nonetheless; rapturously received and enthusiastically relayed by a group capable, on this showing, of scaling some truly spectacular heights.