I often feel solo artists have to think of avatars for their music when their real names aren’t interesting enough. So it’s a bit of a mystery why Oklahoma resident Dylan Golden Aycock has decided to call himself The Doldrums. This EP, or sampler, is a preview of a full album but there’s enough here in thirty minutes of music to suggest that Aycock is a real talented maverick, cleverly combining folk, hip-hop, samples, electronic and acoustic music in to a self-produced concoction of strange but very listenable ideas.
First track ‘All My Friends Are Pencil Tappers’ seems to be an attempt to capture the childish experimentalism of Icelandic group Múm. In truth it’s a bit of a false start as the remainder of the record sounds like the work of a genuine individual. The more fully-formed ‘Softer Side Of Velcro’ pushes the boundaries a bit further with field recordings and loops and a well-defined sense of rhythm that makes the music a tad more robust. Of the more uncompromising tracks, ’Watershed’ throws in accordion and train noises to create a dissonant chill. Yet ‘Your Beautiful Selves’ contains a more approachable melody; its Latin rhythms will be familiar to those who have listened to Mice Parade, whilst the beats and warm electronica employed on ‘Spirit Elevates Brain’ similarly impress. Lastly, ‘Flatten’ is gorgeously atmospheric and tuneful. With such an abundance of ideas in half an hour, the full album should definitely be worth waiting for.
Web Sites:
The Doldrums MySpace
Make Mine Music Label Site
Further Listening:
Mice Parade, Khonnor
Many thanks for the review, Jon. Just to let any interested readers know, the release of this EP has sadly been delayed because the sleeves have gone missing in the post. Anyone interested in buying a copy should keep their eye on the Make Mine Music website and we’ll make an announcement as soon as we can about a definite release date. In the meantime, tracks can be previewed on The Doldrums’ MySpace page.
The forthcoming Doldrums’ full-length, as I understand it, will have totally different tracks to this sampler. Some of the tracks on “Mirth and Songs” are taken from a CD album that came out in the USA last year, whilst some were recorded exclusively for this EP.
We listen to this album a lot in my painting class at the local college. My students love to paint with this in the background and hear something new every time.