Meric Long and Logan Kroeber AKA: The Dodos, recently celebrated the 10 year anniversary of their full-length Visiter. In other news they recently announced their seventh studio album Certainty Waves, which will be available on October 12th via Polyvinyl. What primary songwriter Long calls the band’s “midlife crisis record,” Certainty Waves finds The Dodos going back to their Visiter roots, embracing the unlimited possibilities of a time when there were no preconceptions of what the band should sound like. The duo had to forget everything they knew about what it meant to be the Dodos — and quit worrying about the ‘right’ acoustic guitar to drum ratio — and what began to emerge from the band’s rehearsals felt new and different, yet somehow still fundamentally “Dodos.” And so, Certainty Waves was born. The Dodos also announce a North American tour in support of the new album this Fall.

Following the release of Individ in 2015, The Dodos decided to take a breather. Kroeber went back to work, while Long stepped away from music after the death of his father and birth of his first child. For Long, this break did not last, and he returned in 2018 with his synth-based debut solo project FAN, inspired by synths his father had left him. Simultaneously, he continued writing songs for The Dodos, but had hit a wall. “I was a little bit lost in terms of which direction the record should go. We had a handful of recordings, nuggets, and song potentials, but they weren’t songs yet, and months had passed without any real progress. I was kind of debating whether to drop the kitchen sink, simplify things, or just leave them be.”

To celebrate one decade of Visiter, The Dodos began to prepare for a hometown show in San Francisco where they’d perform the album in its entirety. While getting reacquainted with the album and listening to it for the first time in eight years, Long had an epiphany. “It completely surprised me how much electric guitar is on that record,” reveals Long. “The narrative had always been we were just acoustic guitar and drums.” This ostensibly simple observation was pivotal in unlocking a new approach to the material that would become Certainty Waves.

The Dodos
Certainty Waves
Tracklist

1. Forum
2. IF
3. Coughing
4. Center of
5. SW3
6. Excess
7. Ono Fashion
8. Sort of
9. Dial Tone

The Dodos
North American Tour Dates

10/12 – San Francisco, CA @ Independent %
10/13 – Los Angeles, CA @ Moroccan Lounge %
10/15 – San Diego, CA @ Casbah %
10/23 – Bellingham, WA @ The Wild Buffalo %
10/24 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue%
10/25 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern %
10/26 – Portland, OR @ Star Theater %
11/01 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Lounge #
11/02 – Somerville, MA @ Thunder Road
11/03 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom #
11/04 – Montreal, QC @ Bar Le Ritz #
11/05 – Ottawa, ON @ 27 Club #
11/06 – Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern #
11/07 – Detroit, MI @ Third Man Records #
11/08 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme #
11/09 – Green Bay, WI @ Lyric Room #
11/10 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry #
11/11 – Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall #
11/13 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern #
11/14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s #
11/15 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel #
11/16 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
% with Prism Tats
# with Palehound