DINOWALRUS

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* Future Islands: "Little Dreamer (Jones Remix)" [ft. Victoria Legrand]
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* A Sunny Day in Glasgow: "Close Chorus"
* The Flaming Lips: "Watching the Planets"
* Jay-Z: "Empire State of Mind" [ft. Alicia Keys]
* Think About Life: "Havin' My Baby"
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* Annie: "Songs Remind Me of You"
* Claude VonStroke: "Monster Island"
* Charlotte Gainsbourg: "IRM"

November 6, 2009
Dinowalrus: "Nuke Duke 'Em" / "Nuke Duke 'Em (The Mae Shi Remix)"
"Nuke Duke 'Em" / "Nuke Duke 'Em (The Mae Shi Remix)"

Photo by Will Deitz

The MySpace for Dinowalrus, a band led by Pete from Titus Andronicus, describes them as both ambient and thrash, a dubious combination-- most of the time. "Nuke Duke 'Em", a track from their forthcoming debut full-length, jumps from spazz-y, rollicking guitars and whirling keyboards to a sudden breakdown that by the end of the song sounds more like space rock than noise-rock, their purported genre and one further emphasized by the remix by Jeff Byron of the Mae Shi. The remix is a good one, evening out the track by highlighting the synth and amping up the build, all to a consistently danceable beat. The bipolar tendency to be both XBXRX and Slowdive is gone, but the reworking hints at a new depth. Look out for the official release of Dinowalrus' "Nuke Duke 'Em" (no relation to everybody's favorite chauvinist computer game from the 90s), on the album %, coming from Kanine Records this January. - www.pitchfork.com

A swirl of dreamy arpeggiated synths and sparse percussion lead us into "BEAD," a track taken from budding Brooklyn trio Dinowalrus' debut album, %. The song's hazy electronics, bleating vocal attack, and occasional clarinet squawk create the perfect arena in which the band can unleash its tribal/post-punk fusion reminiscent of The Rapture, albeit on a heavy dose of psychedelics and Tangerine Dream records. - XLR8R magazine

Dinowalrus are one of the stranger bands coming through the ranks of the current New York scene. They are tied to no one genre in particular and a lot of that has to do with their enigmatic front man Peter who has no problems listening to any sort of music and taking about it with a huge array of references and insights. Talking with Peter at Mercury Lounge on Friday night he thoroughly impressed me with his knowledge and his enjoyment of music. While most band members try to be aloof and overly cool he has no problem wearing a neon green sweatshirt with sparkles and cooing about having the same delay pedal as Those Darlins.

As impressive as all those personal insights are the music is even more impressive. It is not constrained by time or genre, instead it oozes with so many varied influences that it's difficult to label it beyond the generic 'rock' category. There are bits of punk and noise in there, as well as some elements of pop, but what really shines through the sound are the sounds of bygone psychedelic garage rock. Since we are in a wave of garage rock revivalism you should be accustomed to those sounds showing up your local indie rock club, but combining it with the psych sound makes it a little more hazy and a lot more trippy and really fuels my love for that type of music.

On stage Dinowalrus are a damn fun band to watch. Peter towers over the audience with his 6'4" frame hanging everywhere, darting back and forth, and occasionally flailing around on the floor. Meanwhile his band mates do just about everything else to keep the sound pouring out. Josh pounds on the skins like a possessed beast and Kyle plays bass, keyboards, and synths tying everything together beautifully.

I know there hasn't been too much written on Dinowalrus just yet, but these guys are pretty young and just getting going. With their energy and pure enjoyment of the music though it's pretty safe to say that they'll be hanging around for a bit so hopefully some of you can start taking note now. - poptartssucktoasted.com