Album Review: Django Django - "Doveland"
Django Django's Doveland exchanges the group's electronica / indie rock sound for toned down, monochromatic folk rock in a shocking twist. It's too bad the grey, bland results didn't turn into anything remotely charismatic.
Django Django are a four-piece group hailing from London who have had a rapid rise to acclaim, all thanks to their self-titled debut in 2012. The album is full of color, joy, and vibrant electronica mixed with 60's surf rock, desert rock, and sunny harmonies. Its production is effortless, fully formed, and addictive. I loved the album upon its initial release and I still love it to this day, possibly even more so. Singles like "Default," "WOR," and "Hail Bop" have been proven to be timeless bangers and have aged like fine wine. They came up at a time where this wave of flourishing electronica and indie rock exploded, where there was a new and exciting act popping up every minute. They continued their path down mixing electronics and genres with records like Born Under Saturn and Marble Skies, and became more collaborative with guest appearances and embraced techno and house on their fifth album Off Planet in 2023.
Doveland, the band's sixth studio album, is an instantly notable change of pace for the band. For starters, Django Django have shifted so strikingly on Doveland that it's nearly impossible not to address it right off the bat. The band have decided to hand over their quirky, electronica-laced experimentation in exchange for tender, serious psychedelic folk rock with heavier focus on guitars and straightforward tones. The stylistic shift is so stark that you might not even realize that it's the same band who made the debut Django Django, or even Off Planet from just three years ago. Not to say that straightforward psych folk is a bad thing (I myself like a Midlake album from time to time) but the way Django Django go about this genre has got to be the most colorless, bland way of doing so. Gone are the colorful, vibrant grooves and rhythms, gone are the strong vocal melodies, gone are the sharp hooks.
The grey, bland approach doesn't exactly do Django Django any favors, and I'm not even sure if fans will take this new sound lightly either. It sounds as if the band are purposefully pulling themselves back and restricting themselves from experimenting further or going down avenues that have made them a compelling band to begin with. There are inklings of their old selves here and there, whether it's the pulsating synth grooves on "Year of the Snake" or the subtle percussive elements and acoustic guitars on "Cameos," which are two of the best tracks on here. "Cameos," as previously mentioned, has some of the better melodies and stronger hooks on the entire album and the dramatic strings help as well. "Dirty Hotel Blues" has murky piano jabs, grooves, and vocal effects that touch on older Django Django, which is nice to hear. Acoustic ballads were never the band's strong suit, especially considering the lack in a powerful lead vocal department from the band. To hear a bunch of acoustic folk rock ballads across this album, without any of the color or shine in production, really leaves me struggling to find many memorable moments.
Maybe I'm not emphasizing enough how weird and strange of an album Doveland is for Django Django. It's weird as hell, honestly. The stylistic genre shift is so weird and shocking already, but some of the even odder moments on here are super awkward in execution. "Little Me" is a murky, toned down number with singer/rapper Hak Baker that sounds extremely out of place. The album's closer, "Feel Alright," is the most appalling. It's a sunny gospel number that is way too squeaky clean, cheerful and by the numbers to be remotely enjoyable. The vocals and tone are so strange too, even with the backing church choir vocal harmonies. It's just the last type of song I would expect Django Django to produce, even if it was done so ironically. Doveland is a strange, strange album that I didn't at all expect from Django Django. It's super toned down, monochromatic take on folk rock, vintage pop, and piano balladry simply do not do the band any justice whatsoever. I can commend the band to an extent when it comes to taking a big ass bold risk, but I honestly don't know what they were thinking with this one. We're a long, long way from 2023's Off Planet and I hope the band can come back to make some credibly compelling and interesting music at the very least.
My Rating: 4 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Cameos," "Year of the Snake," "Dirty Hotel Blues"
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