DØ - A Mouthful

I don't think I'm wrong in saying that pop music is living through the years in which, more than ever before, it's most readily draped in a certain artistic dignity. The digital era, with the creation and circulation of music via computer, has nurtured a new audience, a new breed of critics and new musicians. A hodgepodge of styles and the legitimization of everything are the guiding lines: demonization and factionalism (good rock, bad pop; or vice versa) tend to disappear.

Children of this culture are Dø, the French-Finnish duo made up of Dan Levy and the alluring Olivia B. Merilahti. We could call them indie-pop, but just a glance at their declared influences (Mingus, Wu Tang Clan, Beatles, Waits, Michael Jackson, Beck) is enough to realize what kind of smoothie we're being served. Truthfully, what comes to mind, in a far more mundane way, is that shooting star known as Shivaree. Sure, Dø craft songs with more imagination and a less muffled sound (even if perhaps less technically accomplished); but, good intentions aside, they rarely manage to go beyond the surface.

The exotic, childlike opening anthem, "Playground Hustle", treads territory close to a far less angry M.I.A.; the Caribbean-tinged pop of "Stay", the percussive drive of "Unissasi Laulet" and the R&B fanfare of "Queen Dot Kong" tickle the ear; the intimate, sad ballads "Song for Lovers" and "When Was I Last Home?" warm it.

The underlying pleasantness is surpassed in the moments when the atmosphere turns more carnal. The straightforward rhythm of "The Bridge Is Broken", assailed by electric distortion, and above all the big single "On My Shoulders", with its melodramatic strings, provide the backdrop to the neuroses of a generation that rediscovers conflict within its own lightness. The variety of the arrangements and Merilahti's excellent vocal choices (by way of the Newsom school) are the other two points in the band's favor, this time constant throughout.

A perfect mirror of the times, "A Mouthful" glides by smoothly, tying nature to the fate of fleeting, intense yet far from lasting listens, and reveals, among its grooves ("Tamnie"), a few points of interest that, one hopes, will be properly developed in an ever nearer future.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

14/01/2008