Soon after signing to Frenchkiss Records in December of 2007, the Dodos released their second album, Visiter, to critical acclaim. Purposely misspelled, the band tributes the name to drawing they had received from a particular special-ed student after performing a show at Dorsey High in South Central L.A.. Visiter went on to become one of the best albums of 2008, featuring an array of loud and harmonic tracks, most notably the whimsical fast guitar strums and thumping kicks of “Fools”. And “Walking” a track filled with banjos and richly melodic chorus urging for peace.
However, it is through their more subtle softer pieces that the album is able to shine to a brighter light. The delicate and softly-sung hymn in “Ashley” gives the album a much needed balance and contrast from the other foot-stompers. Yet ironically this very track is about the unsettling imbalance of being without someone loved, without that other half, without Ashley. The track starts innocently enough with simple, playful guitar picks and a strangely warm drum progression, that later – as all with all matters of the heart – grow with exponential complexity and volume. The gorgeous instrumentation securely wraps around the simplicity of the lyrics, providing an inseparable union. “Ashley” is a short story of a love once gained and perhaps forever lost. Around haunting synthesizer and ghostly vocals asking “What are you dreaming of, Ashley?” comes the harsh realization to the fact that these questions will never be answered the way they once were.
