SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: DENDRONS – 5-3-8

Dendrons
5-3-8
Innovative Leisure

Would you like to refresh your memory of the first phase Talking Heads combined with the mid-period Pavement, all brushed up for more current trends? Well, then, you don’t have to look much further than Dendrons and their latest album 5-3-8. Sure, Dane Jarvie and Zak Sprenger, the band’s originators along with their cohorts, Matt Kase, John MacEachen, Stef Roti and Nick Togliatti have their inspirations, where we could also include the punk legends Wire and motorik-inspired Stereolab, but they also bring in elements to their three-guitar/synth sound the elements that spell ‘today.’ This includes a set of samples where needed and further development of rhythmics that both Talking Heads and Stereolab thrived upon.

Actually, the album title refers to the lyrical refrain that appears at a few points of the album of “Fifths, thirds, octaves only” which can give the listener a general idea that guided Dendrons on this album.

And although it might sound as a simple musical combination, the way Dendrons weave in complex rhythmic patterns into their music and not solely with the ‘designated’ rhythm instruments (bass and drums), makes their sound here both fresh and exciting.

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