Dolorean is a band whose album "Violence in Snowy Fields" won't be on the shelf at most record stores. Even the all-knowing, indie-rock-obsessed friend that everyone's got hasn't heard of the group.
The Beach Boy-influenced indie rock/folk band rolls into Nietzsche's this Saturday on the second leg of their nationwide tour with Damien Jurado and Richard Buckner.
The Portland, Ore.-based band is one of those rarities tucked away from mainstream ears, hidden under a mountain of records that would be better used as Frisbees.
Dolorean is hitting small clubs across the country playing 30 shows in 37 days before heading over to Europe.
"We've done it before but not on this scale," said lead singer and guitar player Alex James, in a van on his way to Detroit at the time of interview.
The band is excited to play with Jurado and Buckner. James says he's even playing a little bass with his fellow performers.
Concerning the band's laborious tour schedule, James has mixed feelings.
"You kind of hit some dead spots where you're kind of exhausted and stuff ... but hopefully there's a little carrot in front of your nose and a good show coming up. Once you get going you'd rather have a show every night rather than days off."
Their steady and melancholic music is augmented with the use of the violin, cello and viola in several of their songs.
"I think they're pretty emotional instruments and cause reactions that everyone responds to. Sometimes we'll have a guy to play strings (at the concerts) and another to back up vocals. With the right amount at the right place they come off pretty well," said James.
It does work. And James's Neil Young-like resonant voice gives their music a wonderfully calming resonance.
Their influence, though, is certainly atypical for the average rock band.
"I guess I always really liked The Beach Boys," said James. "I mostly like what they're doing vocally."
"Violence in Snowy Fields" is Dolorean's third album. Their first two, "Sudden Oak" and "Not Exotic," are respectable, though not well known.
The band's music flows well together with a cohesively soft tempo that could be stamped as folk-rock. On the track entitled "Put You to Sleep," the acoustic melody is something that Don Juan DeMarco could groove to in a Mexican pueblo.
On the title track they show a little more dynamic with a Lynyrd Skynyrd-like rhythm to the tune of "Sweet Home Alabama."
James's diverse lyrics reflect his everyday ideas.
"I guess (I sing about) mostly things that are going on around with the people I know and the things I kind of take in, and I think there's some level of authenticity there."
On the track "To Destruction," James sings: " On the way down to destruction/ there are places where I find my rest/ Make no mistake of my intentions/Your arms are the place I like the best."
This leg of their tour, starting out in St. Paul, Minn., has done exceptionally well so far, especially in Chicago where they had two shows with capacity crowds.
Expect a mix of their new stuff and a bit of their old this Saturday.
"We're doing about half and half, and then we'll throw in things here and there. It's pretty much split down the middle," said James.
