By Matt Fulkerson/sports editor
In its first full-length album Mount Karma, Texas-based band Dovetail merges Beach Boy-harmony with ’60s influenced country-rock while still managing to maintain its own sound.
Kicking off the album with “Julie,” its John Lennon Songwriting Contest award winner for best rock song, the band marks its territory quickly. The twangy, western guitar throughout the track stands in stark contrast to the gorgeous overlay of vocal harmony the band provides.
In “Big City,” the band switches into full-on anthem mode as lead singer Phillip Creamer pleads, “Big city slow down and let go.” Creamer’s voice is definitely Dovetail’s ace in the hole; his sound is reminiscent of Matt Bellamy of Muse, minus the operatic perfection.
Never pigeonholing itself to one style on the album, the band brings down the tempo and throws its Keane influences to the forefront with “See the Sun.” This comparison is a little off-putting as Keane recently released a new single, “Higher Than the Sun.”
In “Story,” Creamer lays down a mournful guitar over the bouncy piano. This juxtaposition helps to cement the sense of loss conveyed in the lyrics.
The band takes a spaced-out turn in “The Road,” not unlike British bands Keane and early Radiohead. Creamer exclaims, “I don’t want to live forever, no. I just want to find a good way to go,” and the band ramps up around him, building to a strong climax.
The cult of Brian Wilson has seen a swell in popularity in the past decade with the Beach Boys style of harmony reaching into folk-rock (see Fleet Foxes) and electronic (see Animal Collective). While what Dovetail does may not be radical, it performs it capably.
It has been nearly three years since the band released its first EP Love is War, and it is clear that the group has spent that time perfecting its sound and honing its songwriting skills. Here’s hoping that it won’t take another three years to see its next release.
