[rating=3.00]
While Martin Dosh has been called a one-man band for his looping techniques and versatile musicianship, his latest disc The Lost Take has an extended family of collaborators. He includes the styling and skills of indie darling Andrew Bird’s violin, up-and-comers Erik Appelwick and Greg Cardinal, and wife Erin (who also designed the cover art) on vocals to create a multi-layered, progressively built-upon sound. The list of contributors reaches the number of eleven not including Martin himself. Mixing looping techniques and samples with live instrumentation from the likes of clarinet, piano, and mellotron, Dosh’s mood music brings an array of jazz, electronica, and hip-hop.
The vocals appear as whispers on a few tracks, such as on “Everybody Cheer Up Song,” so the ambient nature of the music is not lost. While they are not in the forefront, the vocals are secondary to the beats and sonic exploration. “Everybody” opens with what sounds like electronic toy soldier drums while the melody slurs around xylophone snaps. The title-track standout melds juicy hip-hop beats with Mike Lewis’ thick, funky sax layering on itself. With this building up, though, the disc can get a tad repetitive. The Lost Take’s aim goes for the right kinds of layering, with mixed results.
