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Press
see link - Mojo Magazine
Always a great pop group, Dodgy diluted much of the delicious eccentricity shown on their debut album in pursuit of hit singles.
No shame in that when the hits were as fine as Good Enough and Staying Out For The Summer but Stand Upright... is more in tune with that debut, adding Fleet Foxes-style harmonies to songs which range from deeply personal tales of loss and divorce, to reflections on the English landscape.
A joy from start to finish.
Welcome back, lads. - The Express
Sixteen years on from their last album, the second of this week's comebacks finds former Britpoppers Dodgy reborn in the form of Teenage Fanclub, plying winsome folk-rock harmonies of an American flavour, imbued with a gentle melancholy and the warmth of hard-won experience.
Ageing seems to suit the trio: "Shadows" and "Did It Have to Be This Way?" sketch the regret and solace of separation with the kind of lived-in honesty their younger selves might have blustered through less convincingly, while the transatlantic references – the Tim Hardin quote in "Back of You", the lap steel streaking "We Try" – have a beguiling, unforced grace.
Honed to perfection by Midlake's mixer Matt Pence, the album fits in alongside the revitalised Laurel Canyon sound. - The Independent
Even at the height of Britpop's triumphalism, Dodgy's anthems such as Staying Out for the Summer had a bittersweet undercurrent of melancholy just being held at bay. Their first album since 1996 finds the reunited threesome allowing it to become the driving force on an album that could not have been made by their younger selves. Bitter breakups, the death of their lighting man and simple maturity inform titles such as What Became of You and Did It Have to Be This Way, songs rich in eerie imagery, poignancy and regret. It's not all nostalgia: the stirring We Try is an anthemic attempt to lift spirits in these very troubled times. Back of You is a not-so-subtle lament about the return of Tory Britain, although the heartbreakingly beautiful Shadows could be a lost Hollies classic. Otherwise, the songs blend sun-drenched harmonies and spine-tingling guitar solos to emerge something like a fusion of Crosby, Stills & Nash, Fleet Foxes and the Isley Brothers. Anyone touched by the Britpop experience may find that, 15 years later, these songs sing their life. - Guardian
Discography
LPs:
The Dodgy Album (1993)
Homegrown (1994)
Free Peace Sweet (1996)
Real Estate (2001)
Stand Upright In A Cool Place (2012)
Numerous singles, many of which playlisted.
Photos
Bio
Dodgy were originally together for seven years and in that time, released three albums totalling over a million sales worldwide and had 12 Top 40 singles, including Staying Out For The Summer, If You're Thinking Of Me and Good Enough. Dodgy sold out the Brixton Academy for three nights in a row and were awarded an unprecedented 90-minute Saturday evening slot on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury Festival.
The English trio began their climb to fame in 1992, releasing three singles on their own Bostin Records label, later signing to A&M. The partnership with A&M generated three albums of life affirming, beautifully crafted songs - The Dodgy Album (1993), Homegrown (1994) and Free Peace Sweet (1996).
Live performance was always integral to the Dodgy experience. When the band first formed they started the infamous Dodgy Club to ensure that the audience got more than just a band on stage. A dedicated touring band (in one 12-month period between 94/95 they played almost 250 shows) Dodgy built a large devoted and loyal fan base. Their positivity and warm hearted songs made Dodgy the perfect festival band.
In a bittersweet twist of fate, it was the dying wish of close friend and crew member, Andy Moore that brought them back together in 2008 and they all agreed that life was too short. And anyway they have forgotten why they split up in the first place.
Since they have been back together, Dodgy have played an extremely successful set of reunion shows culminating in an overwhelming finale at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Like prodigal sons, they have been welcomed back to the festival circuit with open arms and were asked back to play Glastonbury once again.
Having spent the Spring of 2011 in a studio in the Malvern Hills, writing and recording a new album, the band went to Denton, Texas to work on mixing the songs with Matt Pence (John Grant, Midlake). "Stand Up In A Cool Place" will be released on Strikeback Records in February 2012, and following an extensive Autumn/Winter tour of the UK where the Dodgy previewed the entire album live, it is already attracting press comparisons with CSNY and Fleet Foxes.
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