***image1***The brilliant Dullards
The Defector
As a friend recently quipped, "Folk is the new black." And it is. With bands like Iron & Wine, Beirut and Devendra Banhart getting national attention, the angsty indie rock of the mid-'90s is a thing of the past. Lyrical pain is more introspective, and banjos, melodicas and accordions are adding to the (now acoustic) guitars to make a sound that's a little more gypsy and a lot more, well, tolerable.
Santa Fe's The brilliant Dullards have taken this style and run with it on a new nine-song EP,
The Defector
. Not only are these local boys taking a sound that's blowing up right now, they're doing it really well. The Dullards aren't changing the world or the face of music, but they are picking up a style that has yet to define itself.
The small run of EPs came about after several successful live shows where their folksy-in a Tom Waits without the gravelly voice style-blend of guitar, whispers, banjo, melodica, trumpet and drums won over audiences asking about a recording. In the first week of November, the band, which formed at the beginning of summer, began recording, and by the end of the month they had something sellable.
The Defector
doesn't sound like it was thrown together; the lyrics and sound are tight, even if the mastering is a touch tinny. Occasionally the sound gets real quiet and just as that car stereo knob is cranked, the melodica comes blasting in.
Still, the Dullards have opened up an entire hallway of doors through which they can choose to go. Whichever path they take,
The Defector
is a simple set of songs that will propel them as they turn off the well-traveled road of hip folk and forge their own sonic trail.
The Defector
is a limited run of 100 albums. Each jacket is hand-lettered and half of those are also hand-painted. They are available only at the Candyman or from a band member.
