After the 2012 death of their live guitarist, Christopher Reimer (also of Women), the Dodos went in to the studio to recorded Carrier, an album that presented itself as, understandably, the band's most complex and sobering work. Directly after that recording, the core duo of Meric Long and Logan Kroeber returned to lay down the tracks that would eventually become Individ. This may explain why their sixth LP comes off so much more blithe and simple, as these nine songs come off as a release to this dark period.
Still, it's not just the mood that defines Individ, as Long and Kroeber recorded most of the songs without the help of external band members, studio trickery or complex song structures, instead focusing on the (poly)rhythmic and primal push and pull between Long's acoustic strumming and Kroeber's drumming. Although not as strong as Visiter, Individ comes off as a spiritual partner to their 2008 breakthrough, showing the duo working quite well in comfortable surroundings.
(Dine Alone)Still, it's not just the mood that defines Individ, as Long and Kroeber recorded most of the songs without the help of external band members, studio trickery or complex song structures, instead focusing on the (poly)rhythmic and primal push and pull between Long's acoustic strumming and Kroeber's drumming. Although not as strong as Visiter, Individ comes off as a spiritual partner to their 2008 breakthrough, showing the duo working quite well in comfortable surroundings.