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On a night when a lot was going on in the city, Dora Alexander packed The Piston for their Travelers EP release show. The venue was already pretty crammed for Volcano Playground, who started off the night, and got increasingly busy for Bravestation and Dora Alexander. Seeing as we’ve covered all 3 bands (in the same night), I won’t really say much about the night. Although, I will say that hearing the entire crowd sing along to Dora Alexander covering Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” with friends was absolute magic. We had a great time and, judging by what I saw of the crowd, so did everyone else.

Dora Alexander gave out copies of Travelers at the door. It was only $5 to get in, so that was quite the steal. We reviewed it and we really recommend you listen to Travelers (currently streaming here) and see them live.

We hope the photos help capture the electricity of that night. - Buyingshotsforbands

On a night when a lot was going on in the city, Dora Alexander packed The Piston for their Travelers EP release show. The venue was already pretty crammed for Volcano Playground, who started off the night, and got increasingly busy for Bravestation and Dora Alexander. Seeing as we’ve covered all 3 bands (in the same night), I won’t really say much about the night. Although, I will say that hearing the entire crowd sing along to Dora Alexander covering Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up” with friends was absolute magic. We had a great time and, judging by what I saw of the crowd, so did everyone else.

Dora Alexander gave out copies of Travelers at the door. It was only $5 to get in, so that was quite the steal. We reviewed it and we really recommend you listen to Travelers (currently streaming here) and see them live.

We hope the photos help capture the electricity of that night. - Buyingshotsforbands

Though they may or may not be named for a WWII Soviet intelligence agent (Alexander “Dora” Rado), Toronto’s ambient-rock quintet Dora Alexander aren’t afraid of a little music festival espionage.

They infiltrated the stage at Rancho Relaxo during CMW 2011 – and in The iM’s opinion, they killed it! See for yourself:

Check out “The City” and “Marlboro Friday” – be sure to hit up their Bandcamp to get their Travelers EP for FREE! - The Indie Machine

Going into Dora Alexander's debut EP, Travelers, I'd heard several people compare the band (in not necessarily favourable terms) to The Darcys. While there's certainly some merit to these comparisons, there are two major problems with them. First, there's the fact that The Darcys themselves -- at least in their current incarnation -- aren't that established; to date, the band has released precisely two songs.

Secondly (and far, far more importantly), it's not as if The Darcys have first dibs on the sound either. Really, both bands are basically ripping off some alternate universe version of Radiohead that froze as that band was evolving from The Bends to OK Computer.

In any case, influences aside, the fact is that Travelers is a pretty impressive achievement. Not many bands come out of the gate sounding completely comfortable in their own skins, yet that's exactly what Dora Alexander has done. Each of the EP's eight tracks are given plenty of time to grow and to breathe, and the result is that songs like "Together", "Marlboro Friday" and the title track completely draw you in.

Admittedly, it's impossible to avoid that the way they're drawing you in is awfully similar to how Radiohead did it a decade and a half ago. But you could do a lot worse than to steal from one of the best bands of all time...and I use the word "steal" deliberately. Because you know the old saying about talent borrowing and genius stealing? Going by Travelers, I'm inclined to put Dora Alexander on the latter side of that equation. - i(heart)music

Going into Dora Alexander's debut EP, Travelers, I'd heard several people compare the band (in not necessarily favourable terms) to The Darcys. While there's certainly some merit to these comparisons, there are two major problems with them. First, there's the fact that The Darcys themselves -- at least in their current incarnation -- aren't that established; to date, the band has released precisely two songs.

Secondly (and far, far more importantly), it's not as if The Darcys have first dibs on the sound either. Really, both bands are basically ripping off some alternate universe version of Radiohead that froze as that band was evolving from The Bends to OK Computer.

In any case, influences aside, the fact is that Travelers is a pretty impressive achievement. Not many bands come out of the gate sounding completely comfortable in their own skins, yet that's exactly what Dora Alexander has done. Each of the EP's eight tracks are given plenty of time to grow and to breathe, and the result is that songs like "Together", "Marlboro Friday" and the title track completely draw you in.

Admittedly, it's impossible to avoid that the way they're drawing you in is awfully similar to how Radiohead did it a decade and a half ago. But you could do a lot worse than to steal from one of the best bands of all time...and I use the word "steal" deliberately. Because you know the old saying about talent borrowing and genius stealing? Going by Travelers, I'm inclined to put Dora Alexander on the latter side of that equation. - i(heart)music

Though called an EP, there are eight songs, and by my calculation the total length of the album exceeds thirty minutes, making this somewhat of a mega-EP from Toronto rock band Dora Alexander.

The band seems to tread the thin line between sparse and overindulgent guitar quite well, going somewhere in the middle where the guitar seems to not hit you over the head. Even in the sprawling seven-minute epic song that is “Travelers” they still manage to not just wail around on their guitars and show everyone how good they are.

While Dora Alexander’s style of rock can easily be called atmospheric, lead singer Alex Grant has a voice that sounded on several tracks like a younger Gord Downie. This didn’t positively or negatively affect my judgment but I just thought it to be really interesting.

Musical interludes seems to be Dora Alexander’s specialty- many songs have at least half a minute of musical intro before the vocals kick in, and I never found myself bored waiting to hear Grant sing.

The EP starts off with “Beginning to End.” The song is introduced with a 45-second guitar intro before launching into Grant’s vocals, which in this song did make me think of Downie at times.

But guitar is not the only thing that makes up Dora Alexander. In “Marlboro Friday” the keyboard figures prominently, creating a very gloomy atmosphere that builds up as the song progresses.

The EP reaches its conclusion with “Together,” a good showcase of all of the band’s strengths- finely-crafted musical interludes and pleasant vocals.

A solid debut from a very promising Toronto band. Their EP release show takes place at the Piston on October 22nd. - Grayowl Point

Travelers is technically an EP, but its well-sequenced, tone-shifting structure gives it the feeling of an album. Produced by John Critchley, known for his work on Dan Mangan’s Polaris-nominated Nice, Nice, Very Nice, it’s a promising debut.

Layering conventional melodies over multi-part rock epics, the Toronto band creates a sound that’s experimental without calling attention to itself. Radiohead are the obvious comparison, especially since lead singer Alex Grant’s delivery often mimics Thom Yorke’s, and despite the non-traditional song structures, the decidedly moody indie rock veers closer to The Bends than Kid A.

Displaying a surprising self-assurance for such a young band, Dora Alexander let their songs unfold slowly and carefully without worrying whether they pass the five-minute mark. This makes payoffs like the guitar/synth explosion at the title track’s climax that much more satisfying. - NOW Magazine