Dumbest Magnets

Dolly Varden | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 5, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Evil Teen Records
• ASIN: B00001T39J
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #109,658 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish all "alternative-country" sounded like this, July 20, 2000

By 

paul matthews (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dumbest Magnets (Audio CD)

After a year of seeing bands like Wilco, Pernice Bros., Old '97s, and the Jayhawks and being disappointed at the lack of emotion behind the performances of songs I liked on CD I'm so glad I accidentally found Dolly Varden. It seems that their last CD was recorded by Bundy K. Brown(Tortoise) and featured David Grubbs(Gastr del Sol) and Julie Lui(June of 44, Rex) so when I bought Dumbest Magnets I was expecting Chicago indie minimalism. Instead I got an emotional feast of slide guitar and male and female vocal harmonies recalling Linda & Richard Thompson at their best. Somehow they mix the sadness of Mazzy Star's first disc with the pop sensibility of Magnetic Fields. All in all they put the whole lot of "no-depression" bands to shame by producing music that is simultaneously honest, engaging and heart wrenching.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars timeless classic, December 8, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Dumbest Magnets (Audio CD)

this is my favorite record of the year and one that i can tell i will still be listening to 10 years from now. every song is remarkably well structured, played and produced. someone below compared it to Richard and Linda Thompson's Shoot Out the Lights, as high a compliment as one can pay a singer-songwriter record. i agree but maybe for a different reason. Magnets is sort of the emotional flip side of Shoot out the Lights - Dawson and Christiansen explore their own successful marriage, which is a much harder thing to write about convincingly and with depth than relationship disintegration. but Magnets isn't the least bit sappy or self-congratulatory. to the contrary - it is a very serious, thoughtful record with alot going on below the surface and left unsaid between the lines. but if you don't care to dive into the lyrics, the record will win you over anyway with its strong melodies and wonderfully nuanced vocals. i disagree with the person below who found Dawson's songs unoriginal and lacking. in fact, i would rate one of his song's from here, "Balcony", as maybe my favorite song of the year, up there with Bob Dylan's "Things Have Changed". if you like intelligent pop music, i would very highly recommend this record.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Crafted Brillance, May 11, 2001

By 

Philip M. Richer "Mankylad999" (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dumbest Magnets (Audio CD)

This album is fantastic. I first heard Dolly Varden on the Bob Harris show on Radio-2. Check for great music www.bobharris.org and listen in on Saturday evenings. Dolly varden's album is so well crafted and the music is relaxing, challenging and the vocals are haunting. Musically it is brillaint from the very atmospheric "Apple Doll" and "Too Good to Believe" and the title track "Dumbest Magnets". Truly a gem...