ARTiST: Dolorean
ALBUM: The Unfazed
BiTRATE: 184kbps avg
QUALiTY: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.97 Final / -V2 --vbr-new / 44.100Khz
LABEL: Partisan Records
GENRE: Indie
SiZE: 59.22 megs
PLAYTiME: 0h 42min 33sec total
RiP DATE: 2011-02-12
STORE DATE: 2011-01-18
Track List:
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01. Thinskinned 4:14
02. Country Clutter 4:38
03. The Unfazed 4:20
04. Hard Working Dogs 4:26
05. Fools Gold Ring 4:21
06. Sweet Boy 3:19
07. Black Hills Gold 4:00
08. If I Find Love 3:51
09. These Slopes Gave Me Hope 4:03
10. How Is It 5:21
Release Notes:
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The UnfazedÆs January release date alone puts all of 2011 at risk of being
top-heavy for folk music. A bold claim to be sure, but the latest from Portland,
OregonÆs Dolorean is a rivetingly bold album. Steeped in poetic introspection
and brilliant, heart-wrenching tunes, The Unfazed achieves an ageless spook the
Spanish band of the same name has yet to even begin thinking about. When
frontman Al James croons through the laundry list of things he is ôunfazedö by
in ôThe Unfazedö (ôpain,ö ôlove,ö ôrain,ö ôdebts I cannot pay,ö ôdeathö and
ôliving until I dieö), heÆs singing the anthem of everyone who has ever been
jaded with life, but is pressing on in spite of it.
The albumÆs timeless quality takes root mostly in the lyrics. Sometimes, James
waxes Springsteen, like in ôThinskinnedö where he tells us, ôIÆve got my
brotherÆs car for the weekend, a full tank of gasà This old ghost town is filled
with taverns and motels, letÆs stay here for a while.ö ThereÆs a thin layer of
70Æs vibe in the songÆs chorus, too. Other times, heÆs daringly straightforward:
ôItÆs your desire that we enter these fights, and you always end up on top,ö he
accuses on ôCountry Clutter,ö ôA little heartache, well itÆs a small price to
pay if you know you can get what you want.ö Later on in the album, he moans, ôIf
I find love, I wonÆt let it go.ö
Whichever lyrical route he takes, though, he manages to make his words resonate
with the soul. That he does it over wispy folk melodies increases the albumÆs
beauty exponentially. The band has a delightful habit of adding synthesizers in
select places; in ôHard Working Dogs,ö a high-pitched line flanks a declaration
that ôlove is frightening!ö Still better is their knack for combining different
spectrums of roots music, like in ôBlack Hills Gold,ö where groovy blues
instrumentation fits nicely with folk melodies, or in ôFools Gold Ring,ö where a
variety of stripped-down instruments converge to cohesive effect. And in ôThese
Slopes Gave Me Hope,ö the entire song is done over a single chord, landing it
somewhere between a hymn and a chant.
When Elliott Smith passed away, he left a folk icon gap in Portland. ItÆs not
that thereÆs a need for a single artist or group to plug the gap, since the
cityÆs music scene is as vibrant as itÆs ever been. But for junkies eager to
obsess over the little things, perhaps no one group is more ready to step up to
the role than Dolorean. TheyÆve proved that with The Unfazed, where they moan
about lifeÆs angst and hardships, but ultimately find release through the music
itself û not at all unlike Smith. They may not be quite as distraught as Smith
was, and they certainly opt not to strum as fast as he did, but the shared
sentiment is still there. And on The Unfazed, that sentiment carries a savory
beauty.