Doldrums

Last year, when I saw Airick Woodhead as Doldrums, he played with "just a travelling suitcase full of gear and a number of pedals at his disposal." The band were totally unrecognizable, and shockingly good. Now a three-piece, complete with a drummer and Woodhead's brother Daniel on additional percussion, Doldrums are a live force to be reckoned with, all pulsing, galloping drums and shouted vocals. The band were tight, but played with a seeming spontaneity that added charm, as if their passionate grooving to their din weren't already winning over the crowd. Doldrum's days of hovering coyly over a suitcase of effects pedals are long over.