Photo: Alison MW
Info: The word "swell" can be used to describe an injured body part, a feeling of fullness and pride, or it can refer to the ebbing and flowing of the ocean.
In Heart Swell, the new album by Ireland's garage pop darlings, Dott, the band wear their heart on their sleeve, reflecting on pain, pride, acceptance and personal politics while considering a preoccupation with the ocean. The album sees the band showcase a more confident and powerful sound with walls of fuzzy guitars with layers of addictive melodies and sunshine harmonies. An amalgam of sounds in the vein of Bully meets Broadcast, meets The Breeders, where tenderness and brashness intertwine.
Irish bands continue to surprise me with their own unique renderings and takes on styles of music of yore that many of us have forgotten merely due to the passage of time. Galway band Dott hold up a sign that points to U.S. 90's alternative rock รก la Throwing Muses or Veruca Salt on sophomore album Heart Swell, and then pull the sign down just as quick.
'Bleached Blonde', the title of the opening track, paints a picture of a sun-kissed Venice beach, ripped jeans and baggy jumpers and a mixture of youthful brevity and apathy. In between swooning harmonies we're invited to grunge-out and slip under a rippling wave of rattling guitars riffs and percussion. Muted angst that doesn't take itself too seriously.
Next track 'Like a Girl' feat. Sadie Dupuis zones in more acutely on belly down in the dust slacker nonchalance, muted strumming giving a 3 second pause at 2:30 before they bring it on home on the protest song. The inevitable cranking-up comes on the bristling punk jam of 'Floating Arrows', the to date light and breezy mood slowly turning the screw towards a bubbling intent courtesy of classic punk bass-runs and frenetic riffs.
The albums title-track sees the four-piece drop back into a lo-fi dream-pop soundscape that is very enjoyably mellow and allows the listener time to disconnect from their surroundings and thoughts. '18' is a key highlight for me on Heart Swell, it's bursting with nostalgia and somehow overrides any fear of tweeness by being emotionally authentic, it's not a happy look-back, it's one filled with compassion and a retrospective guiding-hand for a troubled younger self.
From where I started with this album, it was a nice surprise to find my favourite track at the very end in 'Wedding Song'. It's rare to find an ode to a loved one nowadays that resonates with me, sometimes you feel like you've heard all of the angles at this stage. But this song takes a new slant with finely crafted lyrics that temper idealism with inevitable future tribulations, and the build is defiantly energising, from ballad to raucous punk blow-out in no time at all. I often mention new albums in the breath of ones that I would absolutely reach for when in certain moods because they encapsulate a genre so well, Heart Swell is one such LP. Dott have done a fine job of staying true to their school as the Beach Boys would say, without becoming repetitive over the 12 tracks, add to that that their 2013 album Swoon is equally impressive and I feel like I've got 2 for the price of 1.
Look / Like / Listen & Follow:
Webpage: https://www.breakingtunes.com/dott
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dottmusic/
Bandcamp: https://dottmusic.bandcamp.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/dottmusic
