Review Summary: Doprah doesn't bring anything particularly new to the table, but what they do bring is passionate and thoroughly made.
How much does an idea have to be repeated before it becomes a cliché? In the music industry, clichés are often reinforced with commercial acclaim because most listeners like hearing what they are already comfortable with, rather than exploring new genres and structures. Although artists who utilize the tried and true methods of the past often come under fire from critics who expect originality, when it comes to the actual quality of the music, does originality even matter? Doprah’s latest release, Wasting, uses the cliches of trip hop so well that I could not be bothered to mind.
The members of Doprah seem to be directly influenced by artists such as Portishead and Björk. This is especially obvious in the delivery of female lead vocalist Indira Force. Force’s melancholy croons are so typical of standard female-led trip hop that an in-depth description of it could bore any trip hop fan to tears. However, in actual practice, her voice holds the same standard of emotional weight as her assumed influences. In contrast, the male vocalist (who only gets one song to himself and has a handful of duos with Force,) is a somewhat stale sounding and fairly forgettable.
Musically, many songs on Wasting consist of what sounds like the electronic mimicking of clapping and metal rattling. Almost all of the tracks also contain a prominently featured, warm, and simplistic bass guitar line that helps to set the album’s tone. These elements together help to create a moderately poppy atmosphere. Wasting is, for all intents of purposes, incredibly warm and metallic, like overheated machinery; there’s even a song on here titled “Machinery” that is exactly that. Unfortunately, the music often takes a backseat to vocals on many tracks, so there is not much else to praise about it outside the setting of tone and texture.
Some tracks on the album, most notably “Stranger People,” mime the style of Portishead so well that they end up serving as highlights. For an album that fails to stand out for originality, sounding almost exactly like a classic artist from the same genre is surely an accomplishment. “Stranger People” is catchy, pretty, and conveys a similar level of indignation that many Portishead classics had in the past.
Quite frankly, I would never suggest this album to someone who has not already heard all of Portishead’s work, even anyone who is not already familiar which at least a decent amount of female-led trip hop. However, Wasting has impeccable flow, is incredibly pretty, and convincingly emotional, but it also sounds like a clone of a genre that has established these clichés over twenty years ago. Doprah is going to have to do a lot more to earn themselves a classic status, but for what it is, Wasting is still exceptionally enjoyable.
Album Highlights: "Will I Be a Figure Eight", "Subaeruginusa," "San Pedro", "Stranger People"
