Enigmatic Leeds-based quintet DOLORES made some impressively atmospheric noises with their recent 10-track demo which was comprehensively savoured round this house a few months back.
Since then, they've honed and refined their sound even further, and put together an excellent debut EP featuring five dark and ineffably funky tracks soaked in mystery and imagination. All are filmic in execution, benefit from intuitive group playing and are topped off by Fuzzy Jones' sultry and smoky vocals.
"Intensive Care" is the opener. It's a luscious, funky prowl, with descriptive, echo-ey guitar figures from Dave Pearson and Fuzzy's junior Beth Gibbons' voice to the fore. It's tingly, effective and a dramatic introduction which sets the quality bar high from the outset.
However, it's a credit to Dolores' ability that they're equal to the challenge and attack all of the remaining four tracks with a gusto and conviction that's all their own. "A Short Film About" is every bit as cinematic as its' title suggests and fades in on murkily muffled loops. It's dublike and hypnotic, with more edgy and spidery guitar from Pearson and fluttering, chromatic keyboard splatches. Tom Lewis's basslines have a Jah Wobble-ish depth charge feel about them and they contrast well with Jones's earthy vocals. All the ingredients come together beautifully and this is a fine slice of tangible atmosphere all told.
"Air" floats in on its' slipstream, initially sounding warmer with cymabl fantails and tremolo-led guitar. It soon settles into a typically edgy Dolores groove, though, with a distinctly Bristolian feel to it. It proceeds to throw a few curves as it gets sparser mid-way through only for the band to open up and Pearson to peel off a wah-wah solo of some repute towards the fade.
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It sets us up nicely for "Who Is Dolores", where the dubby feel is re-established, though the track itself is a chilly, clammy affair with Dave's incendiary guitar spraying broken glass about the place and snagging nicely against Fuzzy's voice, which alternates between sensual and angsty along the way.
"Please Note..." then signs off with "Practically Unkind", which rides along on see-sawing guitars, and funky, burping basslines. It's by some way the poppiest liaison here and an impressively upbeat way to leave the door open into Dolores's world of intrigue in the future. It demonstrates the band have a firm grasp of melody as well as noir-ish atmosphere and augurs well for the next instalment in this intriguing band's story.
Dolores, then, are yet another persuasive reason why the spotlight ought to be shone on West Yorkshire right now. Certain publications would have it that it's the likes of the Kaiser Chiefs who are setting the yardstick creatively in the area, but as always it's labels like Dance To The Radio, Wrath and Chocolate Fireguard who are planting the individualistic flags and bands such as iLIKETRAINS, Being 747 and Instant Species who are going whatever way they damn well please. Dolores are also an act showing similar promise, so "Please Note..." they are in this for the forseeable
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