Record Review - Dollboy

DOLLBOY

Further Excursions Into The Ulu With Dollboy

Kooky CD

It’s always a pleasure to welcome a new Dollboy album. They’re never less than charming and Further Excursions Into The Ulu – the fifth – is no exception.

Oliver Cherer, Dollboy’s sole member, sets off on this expedition with ‘All Of The Stars (Part One)’. It almost sounds of seven years ago, when freak-folk was at its zenith; such is its quirky, homespun feel. Indeed, that vibe pops up throughout, but it doesn’t make the album sound outdated, and never does it cloy. This is thanks partly to the appealing voice and persona of Cherer, but also to the way he mixes in other influences – the Kinks-y ‘No Trubba!’ and the headtrip of ‘The Sun Will Rise’, for example, provide balance.

There’s something very comfortable and natural about the space Dollboy occupies between folk, psychedelic pop and AOR, and on Further Excursions he sounds more confident than ever.

Jeanette Leech