The Dodos – Individ

The ever-pleasant Dodos return to the fray with their sixth album, and it’s something of a gear shift. Conceived in the immediate aftermath of 2013’s Carrier, latest opus Individ sees the San Francisco duo forsaking their well-honed bucolic tenderness in favour of more expansive sounds. Take the percussive thwack of Retriever, driven assuredly by Meric Long’s fluid riffing, or the way Precipitation builds on gentle swells of melody before exploding into sunspot-flecked majesty – songs unconcerned by the notion of winning over fickle hearts, especially when pummelling them into submission works just as well. 

If this isn’t their finest work, it certainly packs their heftiest punch thus far, especially when closer Pattern/Shadow collapses into pure white noise: it feels like a band wiping the slate clean even as they bring down the curtain, implying the possibility of more new challenges ahead. Is this where things get really interesting for The Dodos? Let’s hope so. [Will Fitzpatrick]