The Dodos Interview
Logan Kroeber & Meric Long
Photo by Andy De Santis
To make ‘Certainty Waves’, their seventh album as The Dodos, guitarist Meric Long and percussionist Logan Kroeber had to forget everything they knew about what it meant to be The Dodos. Like the duo’s breakout sophomore album ‘Visiter’, ‘Certainty Waves’ finds The Dodos embracing the unlimited possibilities of a time when there were no preconceptions of what the band should sound like. What began to emerge from the band’s rehearsals was a quasi post-punk sound that Long immediately gravitated toward. It felt new and different; yet somehow still fundamentally “Dodos.” And so, ‘Certainty Waves’ was born… We talk to Meric Long about coming to terms with disillusionment, laughter and fatherhood…
TSH: Knowing that each record for you represents a benchmark of where you are at given point in your life and with ‘Certainty Waves’ completed and out there, what does the current state of The Dodos signify to you?
Meric: I think we're in a phase of our career and probably our personal lives of trying to figure out what really matters, and finding a way forward to nurture those things rather than get lost in other ambitions. It sounds very ideal when I say it, but it's sort of come out of necessity. The only real incentive for us to make records and hammer it out is if creativity is happening.
TSH: Is there a particular shift coming into play regarding the overall soundscapes and instrumentation on this release?
Meric: I don't know if I’d call it a shift yet, but yes there is a hunger for more sounds and textures. There's still a few contingencies on which what types of sounds or instruments are added, so that it still fits within the viewpoint of this band. It's good to have limits, there's way too many options on the menu now.
TSH: What kind of mind state were the lyrics born from?
Meric: I try and circumvent my own brain when writing lyrics, I don't consider myself a crafty wordsmith, every once in a while I’ll land on a phrase that I like and if that happens I tend to leave space around it. For me, writing lyrics has been the moment where I get to find out what's bubbling under the surface, rather than push forward a concept. Usually some repetition of ideas will start to show up and then I can start to assume that’s what's really going on. There's been a lot of disillusionment in the last year or more and I think coming to terms with that was something that kept coming up.
TSH: Which features/ideas would you say you’ve been continuously exploring and gaining knowledge from to further the evolution of The Dodos?
Meric: Honestly, just always trying to find a better way to write a song. Perhaps it's a pitfall to default this way but I always feel there's a better way. Songwriting to me is basically problem solving and that process always has to evolve. In a way that may seem disingenuous but the good thing about it is that that path is endless and will probably keep me going, even if it's a bit in vain.
TSH: When you’re forming music can it at times be a constant battle to make something memorable without being generic?
Meric: I have no idea what's generic anymore. I also very rarely go for something that I think is memorable, which is something I’ve given thought to in recent weeks when thinking about what I might try next. Especially on the last two records I’ve done I’ve only been concerned with what I think sounds cool and exciting to my ears, probably to a fault.
TSH: As you fleshed out ’Forum’, were you looking to evoke a certain mood or was the process more free-flowing?
Meric: That was the first song that started to come together, there were a lot of pieces to bridge that it kind of became this abbreviated version of a typical Dodos song. Because I was editing more now in my home studio, it was an intention to cut out some of the filler that typically gets kept when tracking everything live. It wasn't so much an emotion we were going for, but rather just something to cut through the noise of wondering what this album should sound like. It’s kind of a no nonsense song.
TSH: What are the origins of the song ‘SW3’?
Meric: That started out as something completely different. We tracked an early version at Tiny Telephone in Oakland and most of it didn't do much for me, but the opening drum part and the way Beau Sorenson our engineer recorded it had this thing that sounded like it was raining bullets. I basically just played over that for a couple of hours and once I worked out the fingerpicking scheme the song really wrote itself from there. It was one of the more magical moments during the process.
TSH: At what point in the process do you realise what you’re going to do vocally with the sounds that are being formulated?
Meric: It depends, some songs it's earlier than others, but one thing I’ve started doing is just recording things as they come rather than write the song and then record it. But mostly the vocals come at the end, after other things have been recorded. It allows me to react to the music a little more rather than work out something that I have to be able to sing while playing an instrument.
TSH: Does laughter remain a key component in your creative partnership with Logan?
Meric: I mean laughter for me is the key to any lasting relationship, without that I would probably live in a damp cave. It's when I feel most connected to people, and there has to be a lot of that to balance out the tension that builds over time. I don't think of our music as funny, but there's always an element that at any given moment it could come crashing down in hysterical laughter. It's all a bit absurd.
TSH: What’s been the biggest obstacle to your development as a musician over the last few years?
Meric: Just not letting my ego tell me I’m shit and beating me up. It's totally valid whatever you do if you're into it, but there's always some tangential bs that calls into question a lot of things when it can be really simple, just enjoy the thing.
TSH: Does having some sort of visual at times still to help you get through an idea?
Meric: Not recently, but on our record 'Carrier' I remember using the visual that ended up as the cover as a sort of guide to figure out what I wanted to say. It's a tornado in the distance but the back of my head is in the frame so it's clear that I am not in the tornado. It helped me be able to spatially locate myself outside of the circular thought process that weighs down my ability to write anything cause the same phrase will just start looping.
TSH: You’ve touched previously on getting to shut off your brain during touring, how do you and Logan unwind and keep your spirits up when you’re on the road?
Meric: It's been awhile since we've toured so right now there's been a lot to catch up on and find out who we’ve become during the interim. We’ve both had some big changes in our lives since we last toured so it's cool to bring a little curiosity back into the tour van.
TSH: Speaking of touring, before setting off on your upcoming tour, did you check in with Tina at JV Nails in Berkeley to take care of your guitar nails?
Meric: Of course!! I can't make it through a tour without her!
TSH: Since the birth of your first child, what are some of the recent amazing memories that you’ve had the privilege of witnessing?
Meric: I mean the whole thing is constantly blowing my mind, but I fear that what is amazing to me is really boring to anyone else, so I’ll spare you. I barely liked kids before I had one so I get it, but now I want to pick up every kid I see and give em’ a squeeze! It's totally genuine despite how that sounds.
TSH: Finally, which aspects are you hoping to maintain as you look ahead with The Dodos?
Meric: I just want to be better and appreciate stuff more.
The Dodos - “SW3”
Certainty Waves