French band DOT LEGACY started out back in 2009, and following a few years of honing their craft they released their self-titled debut album in 2014, initially as a digital download on Bandcamp from what I understand, later on officially released through Setalight Records.
I’ll have to admit that I’m still somewhat confused by the music explored by Dot Legacy. I’ve given their album a few spins, and I’m still not quite certain on how to describe their specific take on music nor in what context I should place them. While not all that accurate, I guess a starting point might be that Dot Legacy may be compared to what Coheed and Cambria might have sounded like if their stylistic foundation had been stoner rock. At leas that is a description that sets the mind on the right track. To some extent.
There are, I guess, three main elements to the music of Dot Legacy. There’s stoner rock, both the modern slick version of it, the more aggressive kind sporting monumental riffs as well as the vintage sounding one that can easily be traced directly back to Black Sabbath. The second is post rock. Nervous, plucked, intense and frail guitar details first and foremost, but also textured guitar details, some drones and the occasional textured instrument wall post rock bands tends to use extensively. The third item on the list is light toned, elegant, psychedelic music with distanced vocals and frail, psych-oriented guitar details.
While these three styles arguably can be described as the dominating and recurring elements, Dot Legacy adds a bit more to their brew. Intense, compact movements with a closer foundation to indie and alternative rock. Laid back, jazz-tinged escapades appear here and there. What at least sounds like powerful, organ driven sequences have their place here too, both on top of more typical stoner-laden riff cascades but also in a guise closer to traditional 70’s hard rock. There’s also a case of hip hop present, restricted to a select few vocal passages but still very much present. Layered chants that possibly can be traced back to a folk music origin is a further detail you can add to this stew.
If this sounds a tad chaotic then it is because it is so. Some of the songs failed to intrigue me because they became too unfocused and caught up in multiple alterations, Pyramids a case in point, and while other left me with a more favorable impression I’m still not sure if it is because the music as such compelled or because I maintained a frame of interest trying to track everything that was going on. This is a skilled band, no doubt about that, and there aren’t any issues here as far as performance is concerned, nor for mix and production. This is a well made album on all levels, what I’m still unsure about is if this is a challenging, chaotic affair that will grow on me and other listeners as one becomes more familiar with it, or if this is a case of initial intrigue due to the novelty factor and the ever changing compositions that will fade as you get accustomed to it.
There’s no denying that Dot Legacy is a band that attempts to be innovative however, and ultimately that is the most important details here right here and now. If you are amongst those that have an urge to listen to bands that explore music made with an innovative spirit and are generally intrigued by albums venturing forth into unknown waters, then Dot Legacy is a band you might want to inspect. In particular if you enjoy bands of that kind that include stoner rock, post rock and psychedelic rock into escapades of that kind.
My rating: 64/100
