Weekly Release Spotlight: Dosh
Posted on 5/18/2008
Dosh
Wolves and Wishes
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Dude got honorably caricatured on a recent City Pages cover. Dude doesn't do anything controversial, doesn't have a heart wrenching story behind his calm bearded face, or have any kind of ego whatsoever. Dude's a beloved local musician on one of the nation's most progressively-minded independent record labels, yes, but dude doesn't even sing. Martin Dosh is the new Minneapolis. His looped and layered instrumental music brings the listener to a place both peaceful and vibrant, solemn and playful, introspective and expressive. He has been a staple of our ever-burgeoning music scene longer than most might realize (Lateduster and Vicious Vicious were just the beginning; now he also drums for the great Andrew Bird) and with his fourth full-length, Wolves and Wishes, Dosh has solidified his wordless voice.
As the aforementioned City Pages illustration suggests, Martin Dosh's setup and performance technique is meticulously unique and superhumanly impressive. Surrounded by a circular perimeter of drums, samplers, a xylophone, a Rhodes piano, and many more gadgets, the half-man/half-octopus precisely and elegantly constructs and loops riffs upon melodies upon rhythms upon...and so on and so forth. No written description can justifiably equate to witnessing the modest muscle that builds these songs together on stage. In the studio, his experimental yet always crowd-pleasing antics have received many makeovers. His 2002 self-titled debut began with a gritty kitchen sink aesthetic, often focused on the warped textures of his mish-mashing. In 2004, Pure Trash showed a soft and mellow side of Dosh that had been waiting to escape (with still a little characteristic crumple), also exhibiting many downright catchy passages. Two years ago, Martin pulled out all the stops with The Lost Take, exhibiting a shining brightness unheard on any previous releases.
The latest, Wolves and Wishes, intelligently and successfully takes the best of all three worlds Dosh has exhibited for us so far. To boot, he has also made his most organic-sounding record to date, giving the headphones the closest feel to what one might get catching him at First Avenue's Mainroom later this June. Guests help him on his journey as well: Will Oldham sounds like he's chanting from a minimal and desperate forest on "Bury the Ghost," Andrew Bird's violin reaches for cool blue mountains on "Don't Wait for the Needle to Drop," and Dark Dark Dark coo through an afternoon breeze on "Kit and Pearle." As outwardly impressive as Dosh's setup, guests, and musical prowess is, however, what stands out most is still his music's ability to breathe without pomposity or stuffy art snobbery. Dosh looks forward without leaving anyone behind - and Minneapolis is with him every step of the way.
Stream: Dosh - If You Want To, You Have To
Radio K Presents Dosh with P.O.S. and Kill the Vultures at First Avenue. Doors 8pm. 18+.
Written by Chris Polley, Radio K volunteer and host of Now Like Photographs.