Back From the Brink of Extinction

There came a time late last decade where indie folk reigned supreme. Singer-songwriters flew out of the woodwork like gnats come to feast on the blood of a millennial Americana revival. But as that fad moved aside and the whole “let’s relive the ’80s for no fucking reason” thing came about, it grew increasingly difficult to find indie folk with the same energetic flair.

Enter The Dodos, two San Franciscan fellows who got started in 2005, and rose to prominence just in time to save the deionized indie folk scene from extinction. Logan Kroeber, The Dodos’ drummer, cut his teeth in metal, but upon meeting songwriter Meric Long, a beautiful thing was born.

“It was a pretty easy transition,” Kroeber says, “because even though the instrumentation was way different, Meric was putting off a lot of energy in the songs he was writing, and I felt it and could get pretty fucking agro on my limited kit.”

Despite a different background — which, Kroeber concedes, led to a small-time gig at our very own Black Forest some years back — the drummer asserts it as a plus.

“I always liked all kinds of music,” he says, “so it wasn’t like I was shifting gears out of metal. Having a balls-out approach in the metal band was an asset when The Dodos started.”

And balls out just about sums it up. The Dodos are crunchy, tremulous, downright wild musicians, and they put on one hell of a show. Do not miss this one, folks.

The Dodos play with The Love Language 9 pm Friday, Sept. 6, at Cozmic; $12 adv., $15 door.