It’s opener, ‘Introduction’ is a perfect example; a soft and sweet guitar/cello melody in the vein of Halifax Pier or Sackville, although I´m not sure if Doddi is familiar with either of them. The same formula is applied on ‘Forest’ but the song itself is slightly more upbeat with Doddi’s hushed vocals coming into the fray. Of the three vocal tracks it is probably the weakest one while ‘In One Way’ and ‘Autumn Song’ are obvious highpoints. The instrumental ‘Sound of the Cities’ reminds me of when I listened to a Sigur Rós lp on 45 rpm (don’t ask) while ‘Marco Polo’ is slightly reminscent of múm, with a harmonica playing the key-role and some minimal electronics making a one-off appearance.
In many ways, the album can be divided into three sections, with the aforementioned ‘In One Way’ and ‘Autumn Song’ beautifully wrapping up parts one and three, respectively. In between, Doddi has a bit of a dip in form and ‘This Place, that Morning’ sounds particularly out-dated due to the almost obligatory post-rock sampling of a preacher. Another sample is featured on ‘Love Liza’, this time from a movie of the same name (starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman and music written by Jim O’Rourke). The song is easily the albums poppiest moment with plenty of instruments (presumably played by Doddi himself) but unfortunately some sloppy overdubs prevent the song from ever reaching it’s full potential. The stripped-back piano melody of the album’s penultimate track, titled ‘Windowsill’, is far more convincing and hopefully an indication of what to expect from the young artist, also a member of a rock group called Heróglymur.
If you count a cd-r made exclusively for family & friends a couple of years ago, Doddi has now got 2 albums under his belt and is steadily learning his trade. Though his music could hardly be described as groundbreaking it’s certainly has enough enthralling moments to justify a closer inspection.
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