CD: The dø - Both Ways Open Jaws

It’s pronounced doh, like Homer Simpson’s favourite exclamation. Although The dø aren’t yellow cartoon characters, they edge towards the caricature with songs like “Gonna be Sick!” and “Smash Them All (Night Visitors)”. Their art pop has a slight taste of The Sugarcubes and Olivia Merilahti’s vocals can be a bit too cutesy-pie. But Both Ways Open Jaws is great.

Hot property in France, the duo got together in 2005 and might as well be Gallo-grown. Dan Levy is French and Merilahti is Finnish. The D and O come from their names. They initially wrote for film soundtracks and ballet. Both Ways Open Jaws and its predecessor, 2008’s A Mouthful, topped the French charts but they haven’t had an impact over here. The UK release of The dø’s second album comes eight months after it hit French shops. An (obviously utterly necessary) exposition on how these English-language albums reached the toppermost of the poppermost inside l’hexagon will have to wait. Until that arrives, we’re left with the music.

Album opener “Dust it Off” is typically compelling; a circular keyboard motif is topped by a crystalline Merilahti. Colour is added with a subtle choral glitchyness and brass. The song could accompany a music-box dancer. The sparse bases of The dø’s songs weave patterns with insistent melodies. On “Too Insistent” Merilahti asks, “Why won’t you let me go?” Apt, as after a couple of listens these melodies stick. They like a Pixies chug and a chant, too. Earlier this year, after seeing them at La Rochelle’s Francofolies I said The dø “hurtle through tune after tune in the way that any good pop group ought to”. Both Ways Open Jaws changes that to great pop group.

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Watch the video for “Slippery Slope” from The dø’s Both Ways Open Jaws