Customer Reviews

Violence in the Snowy Fields

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The opening track of this Oregon band's third CD is one of the most mesmerizing country-folk-rock tunes to come around in quite awhile. The loping two-step tempo is layered with hints of psychedelia in the fuzzed guitar and drifting piano lines, and the bunched male vocals bring to mind the harmonies of The Band and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils. A similar groove is captured on the title track as well, but the rest of the album has other styles on its mind.

At the band's core are Alex James' wordy folk songs and quietly rendered vocals; think Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, and the introspective desolation of Leonard Cohen. Strummed and finger-picked guitars are often balanced by strings, keyboards, vibraphone, and brushed drums that provide moodily shifting underpinnings. The most startling tracks feature vocals backed starkly by acoustic guitar and light touches of violin or keyboard, including the weary goodbye "My Grey Life (Second Chances)," dreamlike salvation of "Put You to Sleep," and autumnally Alex Chilton-esque "In the Fall." Drummer Ben Nugent brings a few tracks to a rolling boil, including "The Righteous Shall Destroy the Precious."

Like many in the quiet-is-the-new-loud vein, Dolorean won't jump out and grab your ears with catchy riffs or startling dynamics. It's the depth of James' lyrics, and the heart and subtlety with which they're rendered that stand up to repeated listenings and yield evolving appreciation. Play this for yourself, on headphones or on a long drive along a lonely road and its charms will reveal themselves.

Being a big fan of Dolorean, my expectations were set high for their newest release "Violence in the Snowy Fields." 'Violence' proved to be a very nice record, mixing remnants of their previous "Not Exotic" with some new sounds. This album overall is more produced and lacks the "rawness" that attracted me so much to "Not Exotic." Singer/songwriter Al James does continue to do a great job at tugging at the heartstrings of the listener providing us with tracks like "Dying In Time" and "My Grey Life (Second Chances)." The CD is quite catchy and did grow on me after several listens.

...it's not nearly as good as Not Exotic. If you are new to Dolorean I highly recommend Not Exotic to start out, and then work your way to this album and the newer release You Can't Win.

It takes a few plays, but this album totally gets under your skin. Al James is a very talented songwriter and has a great voice for this kind of material, sounding world weary at times, upbeat at others. The songs are very melodic and the band are augmented by other musicians to give a fuller sound than their first two records, but it's still beautifully understated - never overdone. The production and recording quality are really first rate - and they can deliver the goods live too. Particularly great songs are "Dying in Time" "To Destruction" and the title song. My favourite and most played album in a long time

Pretty solid album but not nearly as good as "Not Exotic". 'To Destruction' is a pretty good tune but the other 8 tracks are average. Frontman Al James is no doubt a terrific musician but I found it was difficult for me to relate to his lyrics in this one. If this is going to be your first Dolorean purchase, buy "Not Exotic" instead.