With Time to Die the Dodos find themselves in the unenviable position of having to create a follow-up to the amazing 2008 album Visiter. Unfortunately for the band, Time to Die finds the Dodos failing to live up to the bar set with Visiter and sounds like a better produced, but less rewarding, collection of music.

Time to Die finds the San Fransisco based alt-folk group less aggressive and excitable than on its last album. Having traded its youthful energy for a sharper sound that, coupled with the great production, makes this album sound more chic and refined. On more restrained songs like “Small Deaths,” “Acorn Nights,” “Troll Nacht” and “The Strums,” lead singer and guitar player Meric Long really shows off his boyish, playful voice and subtle guitar work. While the slower songs don’t allow for drummer Logan Kroeber to really show off his chops, he still adds unique and dynamic rhythms that allow the songs to retain a sound that really sets the Dodos apart from any other band playing right now. When things do speed up, like on the Middle Eastern sounding “This is Business” or the dizzying guitar workout “Two Medicines,” Kroeber is allowed to stretch out further and show his progressive drumming skills.

On “Two Medicines” the band adds a xylophone to the mix near the end of the five and a half minute stomper. The best example of the band’s folk-music-on-speed mix is the Visiter-sounding “Longform.” While it may not reach the staggering heights of such Visiter highlights as “Fools,” “Jodi” or “Walking,” the track fits the mold that makes those songs so great. The song’s stuttering drums keep a frantic guitar rhythm bouncing along before the occasional outburst by Long’s meandering guitar. The group closes the disc with “Time to Die,” which, in addition to serving as the title track, serves as a illustration for the whole album. The track is good (maybe even very good), but there is something missing and it never quite reaches the level that fans have come to expect from the band.

It is possible that I am judging this album harshly in the long shadow that Visiter cast (it was my second favorite album last year). The Dodos are still an immensely talented band and Time to Die is still a success on many levels. The songs are superbly crafted and the production is excellent, but there is an excitement that is missing that made Visiter such a powerful album. While Time to Die will undoubtedly be another disc that will win the band more fans, I can’t help but feel the Dodos took the safe route. Maybe it will be an album that will grow on me, but for the time being this disc makes me want to put in Visiter for that spark of energy that I first found when I heard that awe-inspiring album.

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