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Logan Kroeber & Meric Long - The Dodos

At last! Somebody's worked out how to combine the tribal polyrhythms of West African Ewe drumming with the slaughterhouse riffery of heavy metal within an alt-folk context!

It's San Fran-based duo The Dodos, of course – and, unusually, singer/guitarist Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber get equal hero points here.

Why? Because Long studied the drumming of the Ewe people – a style that employs complex polyrhythms and ostinatos – and brought his experience to the table when the metal-trained Kroeber arrived. The result is some truly unique and unusual drumming (you'd be hard pressed to find a standard backbeat on a Dodos record) that complements Long's syncopated acoustic guitar rhythms perfectly.

Actually, the sounds Kroeber gets are even more impressive when you realise his drum setup: true to the band's tribal influences, Kroeber uses no bass drum but instead a throng of floor toms (which he pounds with ferocious abandon) and a foot-pedal tambourine.

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Recommended listening

Visiter - The Dodos (French Kiss) Buy here: Amazon | HMV | Play
Time To Die - The Dodos (French Kiss) Buy here: Amazon | HMV | Play

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Next: Introducing... Seb Rochford

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