No longer does “to go the way of the dodo” denote becoming an obsolete thing of the past. Instead, Meric Long—chief songwriter and guitarist of San Francisco-based duo the Dodos—gives the phrase a fresh new meaning, playing ephemeral psych-folk-pop music. Long’s fleeting, intricate and finely-tuned finger-picking is warm and focused, resonating under his refined lyrical hopscotch and drummer Logan Kroeber’s foot-stomping tom and-tambourine back beat. Last December, the band self-released its sensational full-length, Beware of the Maniacs, which it took on the road this year with Jennifer Gentle and Akron/Family. It’s only a matter of time before the Dodos really get the attention they truly deserve. And it won’t be because they’re extinct."
Travis Ritter- Willamette Week2007 SF Weekly Music Award Nominee - Indie Rock/Pop
“Throw together a country-blues-loving guitarist and a metalhead drummer and you get the Dodos, a fascinating psych-folktronic duo. On their debut CD, Beware of the Maniacs (released at the end of 2006), guitarist and singer Meric Long layers evocative feedback over pretty acoustic picking, while drummer Logan Kroeber mixes primitive, thumping beats with intricate pitter-patter. The propulsive results recall everything from John Fahey to the Akron/Family (with whom the duo is currently touring). That's not even mentioning Long's voice, a sweet clarion call like Elliott Smith without all the heroin and suicide; or Long's lyrics, which chronicle complex relationships with acuity. Here's hoping these Dodos don't become extinct anytime soon.”"Dodos leader Meric Long writes twisted torch songs for untamed lovers who he thinks are better than he is. "I feed myself/ You feed the poor," he sings on the brilliant "Men," internalizing his inferiority but fighting it with perfectly arching, rhythm-driven anthems for fleet acoustic guitar and concussive percussion" —Grayson Currind (Independent/Chapel Hill)
"San Francisco duo the Dodos matches fleet strumming and picking with steady percussion and select other instrumentation, playing deceptively low-key songs that accrue a modest power like proverbial stones and moss" Time Out New York"God forbid I ever lump Meric Long in with all those coffeehouse clowns and puke-pop darlings who fancy themselves singer-songwriters, but in spite of his relative obscurity, Long is easily one of his generation's finest. While the San Francisco-based singer/guitarist of psych-folk-pop duo Dodos hones the callings of free-spirited, unhinged acts like Animal Collective, the music he makes with drummer Logan Kroeber embodies a spirit of its own. Long's light, ephemeral finger play on the acoustic guitar is fast, warm and focused, resonating under his refined lyrical hopscotch: "Listen to the voices of all the noises that keep ringing in your head / staring at the wall you trip and fall and think of other things instead." Add Kroeber's stomping tom-and-tambourine backbeat, which recalls the Velvet Underground's Moe Tucker, and that amounts to one shit-kicking good time." Houston Press
""Breaking from the mellow vibe entirely and transitioning into an almost drum-circle-inspired atmosphere, San Francisco two-man outfit Dodo Bird stole the audience with catchy, dance-laden folk. Dodo Bird is that gem of a band that could be heard at an open mic night and is focal to bringing the crowd together. Singer songwriter Meric Long and aspiring Dave Grohl protégé Logan Kroeber brought an almost primal drum-heavy intensity to the night. Their largely experimental style is an eclectic mix in that it has a country/folk element blended with rhythmic intensity. Most surprising about Dodo Bird was the twosome¹s ability to channel a sound with uncanny resemblance to what New York City¹s Stellastarr* would sound like if they were to attempt an acoustic country hoedown." West Coast Performer
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"Dodo Bird -- recently rechristened The Dodos -- is Meric Long and Logan Kroeber. Long sings, plays piano, guitar and even trombone. He writes the songs. Kroeber holds down the percussion job. It sounds like a lopsided distribution of duties, and in many lo-fisinger-songwriter-guitarist/ drummer duos, it is: The drummer's a mere human metronome (with as much personality as a block of wood) or there only to gussy up his buddy's tunes with inconspicuous stick work that won't shift the sightlines from the star. But even if the project began as Long's, with Kroeber a later addition, drum kit emissions on their Beware of the Maniacs LP aren't decorative scrollwork. For one thing, the drums are fucking massive -- booming, throbbing, gut-slugging, room-ripping attention hogs. They bellow. They growl. They howl. Even when they aren't massive, even when they're "just" nervous, capering beetles in a bucolic meadow picnic like "Elves," they spike your toes as they skitter over the tops of your shoes.
But wait. Here I am making The Dodos sound like Liars when they're probably closer kin to Animal Collective. Long's psych-folk-pop compositions are smart and tight and melodic and his hammer-handed, fleet-fingered acoustic attack always meets Kroeger's thumps halfway, awkward toe to toe, chin to chin, heat to intensity. And his voice is great. Warm and wobbly and familiar like a brother's or a best friend's. Except (or maybe mostly?) when he's yelling like an asylum escapee -- anguished, near-inarticulate, tonsil baring scream-sobs -- in songs like "Nerds" and "Men" (hear on the band's Myspace). All of which is to say, I think, that The Dodos are probably a band to experience live. Though they're pretty damn good on record, too."
- Shake Your Fist===
The Dodos
Complex duo form simple folk
By Simon McCormack"It would be tough to call it straight-forward folk. But, for all of his sonic tinkerings, The Dodos frontman Meric Long has constructed tunes that are devoid of many bells and whistles (save for a few vocal loops) and have an unmistakable honesty and humility that's refreshing in a genre that has bred more than its fair share of uppity musicians.
The lack of ornamentation, according to Long, helps keep the live show from sounding alien to those who have heard his albums. ³I try not to get too carried away with production when recording,² Long explains. ³I don't want our songs to be identical live to the way they sound on the record, but most of our songs are conceived in a live situation, and I don't want to stray from that platform.²
Adding a drummer (Logan Kroeber) with a metal background is a testament to Long's flexibility as an artist. The decision has paid dividends, as evidenced by the peppier, more engaging tracks on The Dodos¹ debut release, Beware of the Maniacs , as compared to Long's previous solo work. The
addition has also allowed Long to break into new musical territory. ³This started as a solo project and it¹s become more of a band thing where different influences start to show up more and more,² Long says. ³One of our new songs is a total reminder of the days I used to listen to OMD and
Erasure. I would have never guessed that would¹ve happened.²Before he teamed up with Kroeber, Long had already drawn comparisons to sensitive, folky staples like Elliot Smith and Nick Drake, largely due to his candid delivery and a sort of unforced innocence and casual self-awareness.
Long often breaks up the songs with fairly lengthy finger picking episodes where he attacks his guitar strings, seeming anxious to try out a new skill. These interludes also provide hints that Long holds back a lot of his technical skill in most portions of his songs, especially the verses and choruses, preferring to keep things simple, maintaining much of the focus on the vocals.
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"The reviews say the references in Meric Long's sound are readily apparent: Marc Bolan, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, Jeff Tweedy, Iron & Wine. I would also add Mississippi John Hurt. And then turn the record player from 33 rpm to 45.
The elders say that good music builds upon what's come before and then adds its own delicious ingredients. Time has proven this wisdom. Thus, Dodo Bird is good music.
The band's sound is not too far removed from the freak folk genre that was/has been/is so popular in San Francisco. But its not quite the same either, as Long's vocals are less cartoony and his lyrics are much tighter and more focused.
Logan Kroeber's approach to drums is less traditional and more like some intensely and innately rhythmic ur-drummer was told to accompany Long. And because there's only two people in the band, the relationship between the guitar and the drums is much more collaborative and dynamic, and there's a nice Page/Plant call & response mimicry.
After listening to their latest release, Beware The Maniacs a few times, I am enthralled."
Crazy Talk
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"... there is still plenty here to like for those who would enjoy listening to this eastern-tinged, bluegrass-and Beatles influenced folk duo. The foundation of the San Francisco-based group's sound is a finger-picked acoustic guitar and booming drums, but the true pleasure of listening to Beware of the Maniacs is discovering the subtle ways the sound is augmented with electronic flourishes and delightful stylistic changes."
Silver Magazine
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Interview on PodBop
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"...a warm charm and confidence and an occasional willingness to gently nudge the boundaries of the acoustic folk singer/songwriter terrain. Jeff Mangum and John Darnielle, set a place at the table for Dodo Bird!"
Aquarius Records===
"Dodo Bird's Meric Long writes the kind of folk tunes that eschew virtuosity and excessive influence-dropping in favor of clear, compelling storytelling. Without a whiff of pretense, San Francisco's Long digitally tinkers with the folk idiom just enough to sound relevant in an era of Conor Oberst and Sufjan Stevens – while never failing to use his songs as open-throated explorations of his own soul. With the addition of drummer Logan Kroeber, Long's compositions have been freed up, adapting an almost Fahey-like modal drone on the recent Beware the Maniacs." Denver Onion
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"The armchair reference fans first recognize in Long is the early bedroom recordings of Elliot Smith, but the looping current of finger-picked patterns and melodic instincts more acutely evoke Brit songwriters like Nick Drake and Tyrannosaurus Rex-period Marc Bolan. The sound isn't far removed from our city's freak folk du jour, but Long's breathy vocal lines and Kroeber's accents are sparer, less stylized, and not exclusive to backward-looking affectation." - Nate Cavallieri-SF Weekly
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"big rock 'n' roll movement and changes successfully managed with percussion, massive acoustic patterns and slight electronic augmenting" -Independent (Chapel Hill)
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"If Meric Long isn't a household name in a few years, it'll be remarkable. There's a hole in popular music that's just waiting for some calm, honest, clear, experimental, young sound." - Performer Magazine
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“Meric Long got the crowed settled in with his benevolent brand of folk with a pleasant electronic background, like a mix between Elliott Smith and One line drawing. This is only in that, like Elliott Smith, Long’s guitar work is very dynamic and precise and his vocals are tender, but with a hint of desperation always leaving you to wonder what happens next, like a perpetual musical cliffhanger.”
- Noise Pop===
“The talent that Long possesses, evinced in his mesmerizing live shows and his demos, is sure to be noticed by more than just those in the Bay Area before long.” - Noise Pop
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"We might stretch comparisons to Elliott Smith or Simon and Garfunkel when we hear such impeccable guitar work and such longing, tender lyrics. Pretty much as lush as the singer-songwriter thing gets. A rarity at the local level, even in a talent-rich city like San Francisco. We'll just say that Meric Long will soon be on his way." - The Glut
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"...there is absolutely no doubt that this kid is the real deal. Almost a TWEEDY-like voice mixed with melodies as gorgeous as anything CROSBY, STILLS & NASH ever put together, this one immediately feels familiar."
- Larry Little/Future Sounds===
“For those smart enough to show up on the earlier side, Meric mesmerized the audience with his melodies and his obviously deep-felt emotions that poured out during the performance.” Noise Pop Blogger review
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“Elliot Smith meets Iron and Wine…” - San Francisco Bay Guardian
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"The S.F. native's songs are sweeping and simply put, kneading you into sweet submission with an audio back rub. The talent that Long possesses, evinced in his mesmerizing live shows and his online demos, is sure to be noticed by more than just those in the Bay Area before long." - Sean Moeller
