Review: Out of Dodge – ‘A Night at the Hallowed Halls’
Out of Dodge recorded their latest EP A Night at the Hallowed Halls live, meaning this is probably a pretty good representation of what they actually sound like. The Portland band (formerly known as Northern Currents, and having already survived a few member rotations in their short life) bills themselves as alt-rock/indie-folk, but don’t get it confused, they lean more towards alt-country than either of those. Run through their two back-EPs (if you include Northern Currents’ 2013 work Raven and the Magic Pill) and you’ll find the same lyric-driven twang, the same poetic – yet not quite storytelling – qualities, the song structures kept pretty classic.
Opening track “God, Never” kicks off with a slow guitar wail and the repeated refrain of “God never showed his face to us, all I see is dust, I guess that’s all there is.” It’s a track that holds a steady level of tension, until the layered instrumental breakdown where it finally lets loose. At moments, lead vocalist/guitarist Bryant Alama’s voice sounds eerily like that of emo hero Conor Oberst’s, breaking into a throaty whine at the end of its short rope.
There are the group harmonies on “Medicine Man” that take the track from down-on-your luck day drinking to barroom church – albeit not a far trip. On this track, we find another mention of dust, and a similar guitar-breakdown structure that doesn’t feel like a stretch. “Four Horsemen” takes it from a slow apocalypse of self to the life-after-death onslaught of “Now I ride four horsemen, and you know, we take our toll.” There’s a tinge of blues guitar in there that carries a strong groove, probably the strongest on the EP.
The last track, “Twenty-Something Candles,” actually manages to break the mold a bit, swirling from a slow open into an up-tempo rocker. Alama’s voice nears its breaking point, in a good way, and cymbals crash throughout, creating what I’m sure gets people dancing live. Overall, Out of Dodge’s work is less Ryan Adams, more Whiskeytown. It’s early Wilco without the weird. It’s the Drive-By Truckers minus the bad-ass. But it’s a start. There’s raw material here that is worthy of pursuing, but for now the band will suffice for a local bar scene and a pulled pint.
(A Night at the Hallowed Halls is available digitally via a name-your-price pay model at https://outofdodgepdx.bandcamp.com/album/a-night-at-the-hallowed-halls. Sample the EP below.)
