''Not Exotic'' is the debut full-length album by

Dolorean Dolorean is an American rock band based in Portland, Oregon. Their current line-up is Al James, guitar/vocals, Jay Clarke, organ/piano, Ben Nugent, drums/percussion/vocals, James Adair, bass, and Jon Neufeld, guitar. They have released four stu ...

, released in 2003 on

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Fountains of Wayne ...

. The songs grew out of frontman Al James's home recordings. It met with a largely positive reception in the music press.

History

Production and release

Dolorean began recordings its debut LP in 2001, with rock producer Jeff Saltzman engineering the album and providing the bass lines at Larry Crane's Jackpot Studio. To perform the music live, James Adair joined the group on bass. Copies of ''Not Exotic'' were self-released by the band in the middle of 2002, though the official release came a year later in November 2003, when the band signed a two-album deal with

in North Carolina.

Release and reception

The album was well received by critics, and Kelefa Sanneh of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' featured the band and album in the publication on November 9, 2013, writing that the band were part of "the legacy of the late

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known as Elliott Smith, was an American musician and singer-songwriter. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of his life in Portland, Oregon, whe ...

: a generation of indie-rock songwriters... using their own ramshackle voices to sing their own stories of creeping sadness and fleeting joy," and calling it "a wild, passionate album.” AllMusic gave it a glowing review and a score of 4.5/5, writing that "even with the addition of understated percussion, shimmering synth and piano, and stately cello, the record still runs on James' sharply rendered lyricisms and quietly deliberate guitar work." The review further went on the state that the album's "confessional or diary quality aligns Dolorean with avant folk, but it's not that simple," as the album at times incorporates genres such as

slowcore Slowcore, also known as sadcore, is a subgenre of indie rock characterised by its subdued tempos, minimalist instrumentation, and sombre vocal performances. Slowcore's influences are diverse, involving varying other genres, including folk rock ...

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...

gave it a more mixed score of 6.6/10, while

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

praised the release and the variety of songs.

Track listing

All songs written by Al James.

Personnel

*Al James – vocals, guitar *Jay Clarke – piano, organ, guitar, percussion *Ben Nugent – drums, percussion, backing vocals *Jeff Saltzman – producer, bass, guitar, mandolin

References

External links

DoloreanMusic.com
{{Authority control 2003 debut albums Dolorean albums Yep Roc Records albums