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The Dodos: 'Walking' and 'Red and Purple'

The Dodos were touring heavily during the creation of their latest album, Visiter, so it seemed natural for the band to try to replicate their live sets once they got to the recording studio. The propulsive energy they were able to capture helps push Visiter into bold new territory for The Dodos. Their sound has matured, the songs are more developed and it's a vividly textured album that mixes prog-psyche folk with poly-rhythms and ephemeral themes.

"All of the songs sort of wrap around this coming and going theme" says Meric Long, one half of The Dodos duo. Logan Kroeber is the other half.

The idea of fleeting people and places is introduced with the first cut, "Walking" which Long describes as "this mindset I'd be in while stuck in San Francisco, working, sleeping, zombie-like." A slow paced, mellow song with the delicacy of acoustic guitars, "Walking" yearns for a change: "Man I've been wasting so much time/Walking the same street every night."

Transience comes into play when "Walking" moves seamlessly into the second cut, "Red and Purple." Long calls the song "more of a snapshot of things that happened on the road" as he sings "I bring this back home/Just hoping I've changed."

As intricate and bright the instrumentation may be, the duo is looking forward to recording with a third member. "The possibilities seem endless with three as opposed to two" says Long. In addition to creating new material, The Dodos are touring the east coast with fellow Frenchkiss Records labelmates Les Savy Fav.

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