Dorcha – Honey Badger – album review

Dorcha describe themselves as a ‘genre fluid 5 piece band of synths, strings, electronics and heavy beats.’ with a ‘refusenik attitude’. Their new album, was recorded at Geoff Barrow’s Invada studios with ‘its delicious collection of old school synths and analogue effects’. Fighting Boredom have been listening, read what we think below.

I don’t want to leave the house. The world is big and scary and I can just stay here and be safe. I’m thinking about when I really have to leave the house and what I should go as, or I could stay here and be safe. But this record just keeps dragging me bit by bit towards the door. The sound is wiggling and wobbling all around me and seeping into my brain and body right in through my pores. It’s tiny musical pieces dropped on top of each other to make a huge pile of emotions and textures and noises and synapses and sound. Someone gave them the keys to a studio chock full of weird and wonderful devices and rather than backing away carefully and plugging a guitar in they have rubbed their hands together in glee, skipped across the room and plugged every instrument they have into anything they can find. 

I would give anything to be able to see Dorcha live, I can’t imagine quite how life affirming and strange a night with these people in front of me would be. But for now, I’m not leaving the house, it’s too scary out there. So I’ll put the record on again. And again. It pulls at me, progging out into a big psychedelic massive freak out then tumbling down to delicate tiny sounds and strings. It goes from making you feel like you are trying to negotiate a new broadband deal whilst on mushrooms to cuddly, angular post punk notions.

 Then just as you’ve almost got the hang of this strange ball of wonderment it lifts up into a swirling joyous disco ball mass of dancing boogie grooviness. Which then falls and dissolves into a darker introspective vibe and a relaxed smooth finish. Whatever you take from this review is nothing to what you will take from the record. I imagine the band together in a room just adding more and more to the sound, it’s mischievous, delinquent and wonderful. I don’t understand it. But that, people, is the whole point. 

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Dorcha’s website is dorcha.co.uk, they have a Bandcamp page, and are on Facebook.

All words by Adrian Bloxham