If you google ‘dool’ chances are pretty high you are mostly going to get results for the acronym of Days of Our Lives, that popular, old soap opera.
Luckily enough, this Dool refers to something completely different, namely its Dutch meaning, which translates to ‘wandering’. It embodies a searching, seeking spirit, which fits perfectly with the experimental nature of these musicians from the Netherlands.

Three years ago Ryanne van Dorst started up her band with the debut ‘Now Here, There Then’. A band that had partly risen from the ashes of The Devil’s Blood since its rhythm section was born out of those feathers. Keeping that connection further alive still today, the devil’s vocalist Farida Lemouchi again makes a guest appearance here on the new album as well.

At its inaugural time Dool was still searching for an own identity, trying out new things as Ryanne and co went along. Nevertheless, they were almost unanimously hailed as one of the great newcomers of 2017. Just take a listen to the near unpronounceable ‘Oweynagat’ for a reminder how great they already were from the start.

With the bar and the expectations raised quite high, the sophomore turns out to be a more single-minded undertaking, without compromising any of its poly-chromatic adventurousness. As a base they play a pitch black form of catchy post-rock that does not shy away from left-field excursions into for instance Oriental music.

The first three songs are pretty upbeat, including the opening single ‘Sulphur & Starlight’. In their own words: “…a song about dualism. The reflection and the reflected, two sides of the same mirror.” ‘Wolf Moon’, accompanied by the classy video below, is a song about alternative realities and has a bit of a naive nineties era feel. The intro to the ‘God Particle’ exemplifies some of the Eastern influences mentioned before. In its Dead Can Dance-like vibe it transforms into one of the heavier songs of the record with some excellent psychedelic guitar playing.

With the title track they slow down a bit. Being the longest song on the record, it take its own time to unravel itself with Ryanne presenting herself at her most contemplative, riding on the waves of a tantric riff that will reverberate in your mind long after the song has ended. ‘Summerland’ refers to a pagan concept as being the highest attainable level of afterlife, the ideal heaven if you will. Intentionally or not, considering its title, ‘A Glass Forest’, starts out a bit wavy before Micha Haring starts hitting away on the drums, kicking the song forward to end in a trip-hoppy haze.

‘The Well’s Run Dry’ sees an unexpected guest making his appearance: Okoi Jones from Swiss avant-garde black/death metallers Bölzer provides some spoken words towards the end. ‘Ode to the Future’ has got something strangely uplifting like about it, while ‘Be Our Sins’ brings in some nice seventies inspired Hammond organ sounds to the palette, courtesy of none other than Opeth’s Per Wiberg. ‘Dust & Shadows’ closes the record on a particularly melancholic tone, as the last notes shed their mortal coil and come into the afterlife of our own thoughts, only to be reborn again upon the next listen.

Release date: April 10 2020
Label: Prophecy Productions
Tracklist:

1. Sulphur & Starlight
2. Wolf Moon
3. God Particle
4. Summerland
5. A Glass Forest
6. The Well’s Run Dry
7. Ode to the Future
8. Be Your Sins
9. Dust & Shadow