Tiny Mix Tapes

Dosh - Pure Trash

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Congratulations to Martin Dosh; he has recently become a proud father. His son, Naoise, came into this world with an EP named after him -- that's quite the honor a father can bestow upon his child. With this birth process seems to have come plenty of inspiration. Dosh's music, heavily improvisational and mish-mosh, most resembles this point of reference in the childish melodies and innocent instrumentation. The sounds Dosh creates from his basement of tools could be the erratic soundtrack in a toddler's brain. Vocal samples start and stop, skip back, and find their way into the rhythm. Dosh, like on his previous releases, sounds as though he's all over the place. With subsequent listens, one begins to realize there actually is a method to the song structure madness.

A listen to "Rock It to the Next Episode" can give a befitting example of Dosh's style. Here you have a flurry of instruments coming and going at the most unexpected of times. Drums keep the strong pace cemented, as tones, keys, and rapidly-rewound samples join together, weaving in and out, maintaining the spontaneity that Dosh clearly has an affinity for. Songs sometimes seem dense, and other times simmer down to the noblest simplicity.

Dosh apparently relishes his new-found domestic lifestyle; a song title like "I Think I'm Getting Married" certainly assures this. This track is another example of Dosh's craftiness. Acoustic guitar is overpowered by the arrival of a hard-hitting drum beat and swelling Rhodes, not to mention the amateurish horns that rise through the thick.

Dosh's music, though layered with electronics and organic sounds, manages to keep pace with an overall texture. There is a softness present even when the dirtiest drums are played or programmed. Instruments that sound reminiscent of Playskool toys turn up everywhere. With the birth of a child, you welcome joy, chaos, and tenderness into your daily life. Each day can turn in a specific direction at the most unlikely of times. One must be prepared to stand crib-side at 4:30 AM, boil a baby bottle, and dodge spouting urine near the changing table. Dosh does a fine job of putting this concept into music, and without the crutch of lyrics either. Pure Trash once again proves that with a little initiative and desire, garbage can be put to spectacular use.

1. Simple Exercises
2. Dark Lord of Rhodes
3. This is when Things were Looking up
4. Rock It to the Next Episode
5. Bye Rhodsy
6. I Think I'm Getting Married
7. Bring the Happiness
8. G Eye
9. Naoise
10. Pure Trash
11. Building A Strange Child
12. The Last Plan