REVIEW: Dorsten — To the River (EP)
Dorsten’s new EP To the River doesn’t start with a lot of bombast, but instead an insistent beat soon joined by a brittle but undisputedly pristine vocal that comes in strong contrast to its instrumental backdrop. Sophie Dorsten owns the verses with a delicate command in the title track and “Losing It,” but her counterpart and brother Alex is determined to put as much oomph into the groove here as possible, starting with the muddy bassline at the bottom of the mix. Like quicksand beneath our feet, we inevitably find ourselves sinking into the mists beside Dorsten, with their heavenly harmonies and wispy guitars serving as the ultimate weights to drag us asunder.
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“Chewing Gum” takes just as long to find its artistic center as “To the River” does, but it doesn’t use as much brute force as its tracklist neighbors do. The guitars are still boisterous and the strings play righteous for sure, but they’re not crammed between the bottom-end from a bassline nor a kick of the drums at all — the exact opposite. Dorsten is not trying to recreate the melodic whim of folk-rock acts now a generation removed from the current alternative movement but looking to chart new territory, with this lovely lead vocal acting as the beacon of light leading us through even the darkest of tempos and tones. There’s a surprisingly wintery vibe to this April-released record, but its appeal seems to be year-round.
“My Sweetheart” clocks less rhythmic intensity than “Chewing Gum” does and almost a full stop under “Losing It,” but for what it lacks in length it more than makes up for in substance. This is the point of the EP where Dorsten gets invested in the idea of impressing us with their anti-virtuosic approach to heavy songcraft, and from my perspective, they do a good job of flexing serious muscle without having to put a lot of push behind the play. This is a collective effort supported by layers of melodicism and dark implied grooving, and rather than falling back on the singular themes of their peers, this is a duo intrigued by following their own path into the spotlight over someone else’s.
We come full circle with the closing track “Vernazza,” a roughly arranged juggernaut that feels like the most carefully rehearsed single-worthy song on the record, and when it’s over, I can honestly say that this EP concludes with the mystique of a full-length concept album. This makes me quite interested in hearing what this band is going to do with a complete tracklist, mostly because of the bases they’re able to cover in this piece without having to sacrifice anything to the gods of folk music. Indie outfits usually take a pretty long time to find their niche in the studio, but as of this moment in 2024, Dorsten is not among those bands. They’ve arrived, and that’s what this disc celebrates without having to step too far into the world of boasting that has become the foundation for some of alternative folk’s most intriguing new releases.
Colin Jordan
